Saturday, November 12, 2011

Book Review

by Laura Crum (and son)

My son just finished reading Alison’s book “Risky Chance”, and very much enjoyed it. I read the book, too, as I do most every book my son reads, and thought it was perfect as a read-alone book for a child my son’s age (11) or as a book to read aloud to a younger child. The book is told from the horse’s point of view (a la Black Beauty), and Alison’s knowledge and love of horses shines through very clearly. The story was realistic enough to be believable, but the sad/difficult parts were redeemed (for a child) by the happy ending. I especially enjoyed the details about the southern California racing scene during the Depression. The illustrations were also very good. So here is my boy’s review/book report, in his own words.

Title: The Horse Diaries: Risky Chance

Author: Alison Hart

Time: 1935-1940

Subject: Risky Chance is about a Thoroughbred horse who is a racehorse. He was born to run. He meets friends, Marie and Lanny. But also enemies, Bugsy and a money sucking owner. This story has both dark and light in it. And in the end light wins. Risky Chance tells his story in his own words.

My rating: Four stars!

6 comments:

Francesca Prescott said...

Alison: can I buy this on Amazon? I know my sister's daughters would love it!

Laura Crum said...

Francesca--I actually bought this book on Amazon--so yes, you can buy it there.

Dreaming said...

I have read the book and need to get a book review written. I really enjoyed the book, even as an adult!

Alison said...

Thank you Laura and your son, the fabulous reviewer, for the comments on Risky Chance. I loved his sentences: "This story has both dark and light in it. And in the end the light wins." I think he just may end up a writer like his mom.

Linda said...

Sounds like a good one. Is your son drawn to horse stories?

Laura Crum said...

Linda--My son likes to read and he loves his horse, so horse stories are a natural for him. But he reads a wide variety of things.