|
Post by Claire on Oct 8, 2020 22:00:40 GMT 1
Hi all, this years Autumn/Halloween read is Midnight Magic by Joyce StrangerA pony story with a ghostly element! The book is easy to find in the UK. Can be found in the USA, though possibly only from UK sellers. There is also an option to read it for free from the Open Library website, although at the moment it appears to be 'checked out' - worth checking back a few times to see if it's status changes to available. I can also lend anyone a copy if needed. Discussion takes place from 31st October onwards. Hopefully that will give everyone time to beg, borrow or steal a copy!
|
|
|
Post by darkhorse on Oct 18, 2020 9:54:41 GMT 1
I've ordered a copy from Abebooks (UK) and will be joining in. They have a few low cost copies on there at the minute.
|
|
|
Post by rallycairn on Oct 18, 2020 23:22:09 GMT 1
My copy just came! Ready to get cracking.
|
|
|
Post by Claire on Oct 31, 2020 10:24:45 GMT 1
Hi all, has anyone read or started reading yet?
|
|
|
Post by rallycairn on Nov 1, 2020 16:36:28 GMT 1
Yes! I read it and promptly gave it to my husband to read, because it is so good and I wanted to see what he thinks of what I'll call the "philosophy" of the book, which is SO SO WONDERFUL. I was waiting to get it back from him so I could go through my copy to refresh what I wanted to say about it here.
This book is FIVE HORSE SHOES material, maybe even GOLD CUP status. Love, love, love it!
|
|
|
Post by Claire on Nov 1, 2020 17:25:24 GMT 1
Glad to hear you enjoyed it Rallycairn. I'd really be interested in what your 'other half' thinks of it too. Is he also a horsy person?
I'm only half way through due to my copy being mislaid and somehow ending up mixed in with my sales stock! So I'll be adding my comments in a day or two.
|
|
|
Post by darkhorse on Nov 5, 2020 23:12:52 GMT 1
I voted good. I thought it was very well written and the characters were good. I like that the horses had their own quirks and characters that Mandy was encouraged to find out about. On the other hand, nothing much seemed to happen in the book in terms of the plot. The ghost horse didn't appear much and didn't seem to have much bearing on the story, which were the reasons why I didn't go for very good.
|
|
|
Post by Claire on Nov 6, 2020 20:47:40 GMT 1
I get where you're coming from darkhorse, in that the book was very loosely plotted, I think tightening up the plot may have taken it a notch further, and I did feel it fizzled out a little towards the end, rather than having a definite finale. But I do think it was concentrating more on relationships and the ethos the author wanted to promote (which Darkhorse did also touch upon and is, I think, what Rally meant by the philosophy of the book - correct me if I'm wrong. Rally!) rather than a story as such. To me the book was all about thinking of horses as individuals, and putting their needs and quirks on a par with the rider's. Also tuning into their personalities and bonding with them to become a better, more sympathetic rider. It's quite a different approach to most pony books which, if they have an instructional element, is more of the traditional learning of the aids, how to sit, etc. Interestingly, this way of thinking was also extended towards interacting with people, hence Kirstie asking why Susan was so bad and nervous a rider and transforming her when she and Mandy knew the answers.
On a less esoteric note, I really identified with the character of Mandy with whom I share quite a few characteristics: easily stressed and a worrier and a tendancy to 'mother' people. I was nervous of riding for a while but unlike Mandy, not of horses - just like Susan, I had an awful, scary instructress at one riding school. I was far more scared of her than any horse!
I agree with Darkhorse in that the ghost horse could have featured more in the story. He did appear at some pivotal moments. He certainly wasn't a scary ghost horse at all.
Although the main character was quite young and ostensibly this was aimed at younger teens, I found it more of an adult read in its complexity and depth. The adult characters featured quite a lot in the story, mainly Kirstie but also Luke and Mandy's father. I don't know what a younger reader would make of the book. I have only read it as an adult.
All in all I thought it was an excellent read and feel like Joyce Stranger is quite under-rated as a writer of horse stories, being more well known for her dog novels. I'd certainly recommend her other horse stories too.
|
|
|
Post by rallycairn on Nov 13, 2020 1:46:09 GMT 1
I'll probably violate netiquette and make a few smaller posts rather than one big one, or else I may never get around to posting at all!
The first two chapters were a little grim, and I worried Midnight Magic was going to be quite a downer of a book -- first Mandy's fall from Beau, and then her father's job loss. Wow. Pretty heavy stuff for a book that, like Claire said, features a pretty young girl. The second chapter was a little maundering, although I enjoyed Mandy's appreciation for the little donkey, Pearl, and her relationship with her Welsh terrier, Sim.
Then chapter 3, and wham -- as soon as Mandy and her father arrived at The Horse & Garter, I had a strong feeling I was entering a fictional world as desirable as Jinny's Finmory, which is just incredible with its moors AND mountains AND the sea. Pretty much paradise, Finmory is. And with this book, there was the pub, with Luke and his wife running it, the statuette of the horse of Mandy's dreams, the hint of a supernatural horse around, etc. And Sim welcome inside! (more common in Europe than America, I know, for places to be dog friendly). Then Mandy and her father get to Kirstie's, and Mandy sees Midnight Magic right away, and this wonderful horse-y house and fields are to be her family's. With the wise woman benefactor of Kirstie insisting she belongs there. And Kirstie is so in tune with all animals, not just horses, but also her cat, and she realized what was going on with Sim when suddenly he howled (something was wrong with Mandy's family, her mother's collapse).
And then on from there, once they move, and her family keeps with the farm purchase the ponies at livery/boarding, and there's just this established horse-y way of life waiting to be fallen into. The village and house and fields just seem such an amazing place to call home. And Midnight Magic this approving, timeless, benevolent presence.
|
|
|
Post by Claire on Nov 16, 2020 0:51:10 GMT 1
Thanks for some of your views Rally. I had forgotten about how Sim the dog howls and it turns out Mandy's mother has been taken into hospital. Is this a magical/supernatural event or just an illustration of animals picking up on certain vibes and non verbal cues, etc, like dogs who can tell if a child is going to have an epileptic fit beforehand? We don't know 100% but it adds to the slightly magical, otherworldly feel the book takes when Mandy starts her new life. I am lucky enough to live in beautiful countryside with moors and wild animals and pubs where dogs are welcome, but not to have an amazing mentor like Kirstie around!
|
|