C. S. AdlerReseñas

Sweet book with a lovely ending. A short book, quick read but with depth. Great characters.

Horse story where the whole narrative arc is about how to procure treatment for an injured horse. It has a lot of difficult things going on: Jan's father has recently died in an accident, she and her mother are still grieving. They had to give up their large ranch house to live in the small "casita" that used to be for hired hands. Her mother still makes a living boarding and caring for other's horses, and taking guests on trail rides, while their original house has been converted into an assisted living home for the elderly. When Jan's horse goes lame it turns out to be more serious than just a bruise or sprain- he needs an operation. Jan's mother takes a second job but it still isn't enough for the cost. The girl is desperate to find a way to save her horse but can't think of anything. She's more distracted than usual from school, and can't relate to the other kids who don't seem to have any of the same worries (though one girl is nice to her and that might turn into a friendship). One day she's outside with her horse and meets two old ladies from the assisted living home, out for a walk. Mattie commiserates with Jan over the horse's condition, says she used to have a horse when she was young, and invites Jan to the house to see photos. Reluctantly Jan complies and to her surprise finds she rather likes the older woman. She visits her now and then, while still trying to figure out what to do: can she get a job herself? could she lease a "share" of her horse to someone who wants to ride and doesn't own one? It turns out that Mattie might have an answer to her problem, but then she worries about the morality of accepting the offer. This story surprised me with its depth, for such a short book it sure hits some serious issues. And I didn't even mention all of them! Have to leave the reader something to find out. There was only one conversation near the end of the book that struck me as awkward, the rest felt very real and easy to read.

from the Dogear Diary

När Lainey inte får någon häst av sin pappa i 13-års present heller, tar hon saken i egna händer. Hon söker jobb hos Mr Dodge. Han tycker egentligen att hon är för liten för hårt fysiskt arbete, men ger henne ändå chansen som tränare. Laineys elever blir storstadsungen Ryan och hästen Whiskey-ett egensinnigt djur som aldrig bär en ryttare längre än 400 meter. För att få sin efterlängtade häst måste Lainey lära Ryan något om hästar, få bukt med Whiskey och visa sin pappa att hon kan vara precis så stark som behövs ...

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Things are difficult for twelve-year-old Jan and her mother after her father's death, and when it turns out that her beloved horse needs an operation, Jan reluctantly gets money from an elderly woman whom she has befriended.

The magic of the Glits by Adler_ C. S_ (Carole S.)
Jeremy summer at Cape Cod-he has a cast on his broken leg and he has to babysit the 7 yo girl-Lynette.
He invents the game, the glitz to keep her busy. They do spend time at the beach, just not near the water because her mother had drowned.
After the cast he picks up hanging out with his male friends playing ball, etc. He brings her with him...
He helps her get over her fears and he needs to have some more responsibility. Her father wants to put her in an orphanage and then she wishes on the glits that she felt.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).½

Some other summer by Adler_ C. S_ (Carole S.)
Lynette is overjoyed Jeremy will come to the farm. He will come visit with her at the farm. He's 17 now and her cousin Debby is around and he pays more attention to her.
She pretties her horse Penny and then she will clean the house again til he arrives in the afternoon. Lynette has a crush on him and she wants to marry him when she grows up. Love the area of Glens Falls as we have relatives there and have visited and walked the lands.
Like all the talk about the horses and the trails they take. They have put Jeremy to work and he's enjoying learning new things. then Debby returns.
She has a plan when the younger cousin Eddie has harmed her horse...
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).½

A many-layered book about a lonely latch-key child; a favourite book of my oldest daughter when she was in middle school. Is Amanda's fantasy world, where Pink Pig is her best friend and an evil wizard threatens the Little World inhabited by her collection of glass miniatures, really more divorced from reality than her elegant mother's fantasy world in which Amanda's older brother Dale, a less-than-stellar scholar and a competent team player, will win an athletic scholarship or qualify academically for an Ivy League college?½

A 12 year old girl (Chris) and her 7 year old sister go to stay with an unfamiliar grandmother in the woods for the summer when their parents get divorced and the mom need to take a class to earn more money. They are very unhappy about this, but the grandma turns out to be very cool. Chris is angry at her mom, has fantasies of being taken away by her now-absent dad, and gets wrapped up in the "magic" of a tiny silver coach figurine that her grandmother tells her will take her anywhere she wants to go if she believes enough. She struggles with her own adolescent feelings, anger and internal loathing as she does not feel she is a very good person even though she tries to be. The summer with grandma forces her to confront these feelings and she matures and learns to live and let live.
When I found this book at my local library I had to re-read it. When I was in the 5th grade, my friend Maria and I would take turns taking it out from the school library so we would always have it, we read it so many times. Looking back, I'm not sure I understand why it appealed to me so much (my parents are still married) but my friend's parents were divorced around then, so it may have really spoken to her and me as a way to understand.
Not fantastic writing, but quick and easy read. Only reason why a tween today may not like it as Chris's eagerness to believe in the magic of the coach is a bit childlike and may be unconvincing to today's tween.

Sweet story, beautifully descriptive writing. Lovely black-and-white illustrations by Ati Forberg, especially of the sandpipers on the beach.

Youn Hee est une jeune coréenne adodptée par une maman américaine qui a déjà une fille..

A twelve-year-old girl develops a crush on her English teacher when he spends a week at a beach near her family's cottage.

Wally's older brother, Jon-o, died while he was rescuing a drowning child. Wally is finding life difficult without Jon-o and often imagines Jon-o as a ghost, who offers Wally advice. Wally wants to be more like Jon-o, a daredevil, but he isn't as athletic or foolhardy. Wally tries to take Jon-o's place, but his mother reassures him he doesn't have to, and that Jon-o loved Wally for who he is. As Wally comes to terms with life without Jon-o, Jon-o's ghost disappears.

A good book, better than I was expecting given the subject matter.

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