As in adult titles such as Horse Heaven (2000), Pulitzer Prize winning author Smiley draws on her personal passion for horses in this quiet, psychologically attuned youth debut set in 1960s rural California. "The best thing that can happen to you in seventh grade, really, is that you float from one classroom to another like a ghost or a spirit, undetected," says Abby, a loner who dreads dealing with her school's ruling mean-girl clique. She finds blissful escape working on her family's ranch, but she tangles with her stern, born-again Christian father over how best to treat and train their horses. While studying horse behavior, she gains insight into humans that helps her gradually discover the strength of her own voice. Smiley builds tension slowly, and some readers will skip over the extraordinarily detailed passages about tack (illustrated in sporadic, charming ink drawings), care, and riding. Serious horse fans, though, will be enthralled, and Abby's gentle, emotionally nuanced conflicts, both at school and at home, will reward a general audience of patient readers.

Abby's father names all the male horses that come through their farm George and all the female horses Jewel, and Abby knows it's to keep the family from becoming too attached to them. Training and reselling horses is their business, and good horses never stay with them long. Especially now that Abby's brother has left home, her helping in training them is important: The biggest market is for horses "even a little girl can ride." But the horse Abby nicknames Ornery George can't be ridden by a little girl—at least not by Abby, no matter how hard she tries. Her father's methods don't work; her uncle's are catastrophic. Pulitzer Prize winner Smiley's first book for younger readers is lush with the love of horses, old, young, cantankerous and wonderful. The difficulties Abby has at home and at school pale by comparison to her struggles with Ornery George, which makes her final victory even more sweet. It's the minute details of work with the horses that make this book sing, and horse-mad readers will snap it up. (Historical fiction. 10-14)

Though it's not allowed by her horse-trainer father, Abby grows attached to one particular gelding and an orphaned foal. The novel is about Abby learning to work with the horses, but also about dealing with her fundamentalist dad. Smiley unfolds the plot strands so naturally, with such an assured, brisk voice, that readers will take them all in avidly.

Gr 5-8 A quiet novel about the relationships surrounding 12-year-old Abby on her family's rural horse ranch in 1960s California. Due to her parents' strict religious views (no TV or rock music), Abby often feels like an outcast in her small seventh-grade class and she is often subjected to ridicule by the popular girls. She finds solace in working with the horses (there are numerous detailed scenes of riding, jumping, and grooming) with the exception of Ornery George. To avoid attachment and to ready the animals for sale, her father names all their horses George or Jewel. Meanwhile, the family is dealing with the estrangement of 16-year-old Danny, who left home after an argument. Abby's voice tends to be far more intuitive and insightful than one would expect of her age, especially as she discerns the nuances and tensions in her parents' relationship. The occasional anachronistic word or phrase such as "wandering around the strip mall" (a term generally not in use until the 1980s) tend to distract. Ultimately, the subtle shifts in attitude that occur may be appreciated by adults but lost on the young readers for whom the book is intended. Intricate pen-and-ink drawings of horse equipment at the beginning of each chapter give the book an old-fashioned feel. Madeline J. Bryant, Los Angeles Public Library

Pulitzer Prize–winner Smiley's first novel for young readers is a lyrical meditation on horses, families and the vicissitudes of peer relationships among girls. Twelve-year-old Abby lives on a California horse farm with her evangelical parents. It is the mid-1960s, and references to Dusty Springfield records and portable hi-fis contrast with the pastoral setting, where the struggle is mainly between Abby and “Ornery George,” one of the gelding horses (all the horses are named George or Jewel by Abby's father to eschew unnecessary attachments). A wise and kindly horse trainer eventually teaches Abby how to temper Ornery George, paralleling the nuanced lessons she learns about her relationship with her father, his fraught dealings with Abby's older brother, Danny, as well as the bullying by the “Big Four” girls at school. As might be expected from the skilled hands of Smiley (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">A Thousand Acres), there are additional synchronous story lines, such as the ways an unexpected and spirited colt named Jack becomes accepted into the human and horse families. Many will find it difficult to say goodbye to Abby, Jack and especially to Ornery George. Ages 10–up. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Sept.)