Sunday, March 1, 2015

A Horse For Kate - Miralee Ferrell

A Horse For Kate
Miralee Ferrell
David C. Cook, Mar 1 2015, $7.99
ISBN: 9780781411141

Thirteen year old Kate prays to God for her dad to find a new job after losing his last one so they would not have to move away from her friends in Spokane and subsequently fail to make new ones.  However, she is upset with God for failing to give the Ferris family a reprieve.  She moves with her parents and her younger brother Peter to her late maternal Grandpa Cooper’s farm in ODell, Oregon.

In Odell, Kate thinks the barn would be a great place to house her horse if she had one, but doubts her parents would buy her a steed as they lack the funds.  Kate begins feeding carrots to an emaciated either runaway or abandoned horse.  Classmate Tori Velasquez sees Kate with the horse and joins her; they quickly become best buddies.  In spite of setbacks she refuses to give up her dream of A Horse for Kate.

The first Horses and Friends tale is a pleasing drama that tweeners will devour while rooting for the BFFs and their parents treasure.  The protagonist is a delightful young teenager struggling with change and unfulfilled desires that make her believe God and her parents no longer care about her; while at the same time this attitude makes her feel selfish.  The insightful friendship between Kate and Tori enhances the plot as each learns life lessons.


Harriet Klausner

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