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39th out of 68 books
—
15 voters
When Horses Had Wings
by
Diana Estill (Goodreads Author)
Pregnant at 16, Renee Goodchild drops out of school and marries. Now she’s trapped in rural Texas with Kenny, her violent, garbage-collecting husband. A bleak future seems assured until she meets self-appointed relationship guru, Pearly.
“That’s why you don’t let ‘em rule the roost. ’Cause you can’t count on ‘em to be there the next mornin’ when it’s time to crow,” the wor...more
“That’s why you don’t let ‘em rule the roost. ’Cause you can’t count on ‘em to be there the next mornin’ when it’s time to crow,” the wor...more
Paperback, 306 pages
Published
November 21st 2011
by Corncob Press
(first published October 17th 2011)
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From the outset it's clear that Renee's life isn't going to be rosy. Although she accepts her unintended pregnancy and teenage marriage to Kenny and plans to make the best of it, Kenny manages to make her life more and more miserable by the day. Anger and jealousy transform him from a useless, unsympathetic louse to an abusive spouse, not to mention the emotional abuse he employs in an attempt to control Renee and keep her underfoot. At times Renee's confidence wavers. But it is perhaps the birt...more
Though the title is a bit obscure relative to the topic,
When Horses Had Wings
is a well written book which follows an old, familiar theme of spousal abuse, poverty, hopelessness, and finally finding a bit of light at the end of the tunnel. There are places where the protagonist misses direction, but she is easy for the reader to relate to. Sprinkled with a bit of adult language, sarcasm and humor, the text is well written and maintains the reader's interest throughout and earns its four stars....more
It isn't easy to write a story that people can virtually see before their eyes as if they were watching it unfold right in front of their noses, but with each paragraph When Horses Had Wings unfolded before me in just that way. The writing was so true and believable that there could be no doubt in my mind that the characters were actually somewhere out there in the world, living just as they we written on paper.
Told in the first person, we follow the life of a woman who was a pregnant teen and m...more
Told in the first person, we follow the life of a woman who was a pregnant teen and m...more
Renee is 16 years old and pregnant to a lazy, contoling man named Kenny. They have a shot gun wedding and move into a low income duplex. Renee is poor and uneducated but has a heart full of love. Kenny is abusive and degrading to Renee. After Sean is born, Renee, through Granny's wise words of wisdom, gets the courage to begin standing up for herself by driving, getting a job and leaving Kenny. Renee begins to build a life for her and Sean but it seems nothing ever comes easy for Renee. Her fait...more
2.75 stars. I liked the ambiance of the story and the way the author wrote the voices of the different characters, and I never wished to put it down. However, I found the plotline to be... blah. Obvious. And the events and emotions of the book were somewhat shallowly painted-- the main character would tell us that she was suffering, but I never really felt it. I would think yes, X happened, of course this is the hardest day of your life, but it was like I was always very aware that I was reading...more
When Horses Had Wings is a moving tale of one woman -- actually one girl's -- journey from being an ill-informed, insecure teen, to being a pregnant teenager and battered wife. The story takes place during the 1970's prior to current laws on the books that protect women from spousal abuse, marital rape and the powerlessness that came with being from that time period. Add poverty and lack of education and the protagonist's tale appears quite bleak. That is, until she decides to take action for he...more
Even when we do not actively participate in our destiny, we are still on a chosen path. Life has a way of making decisions for us.
******
In Diana Estill's women's fiction title When Horses Had Wings, lead character Renee Goodchild understands the important lesson of gaining control of one's life more than most. Her unplanned teenage pregnancy prompts a premature wedding to her high school boyfriend, and now Renee must submit to the responsibility of adulthood without the benefit of actually being...more
******
In Diana Estill's women's fiction title When Horses Had Wings, lead character Renee Goodchild understands the important lesson of gaining control of one's life more than most. Her unplanned teenage pregnancy prompts a premature wedding to her high school boyfriend, and now Renee must submit to the responsibility of adulthood without the benefit of actually being...more
Renee didn't expect the 'rural opportunity' she and Kenny had enjoyed to make any real difference in her life. When, three months later, the preacher asked if she'd take Kenny as her lawfully wedded husband, she hesitated, trying to decide if she had a choice. But no, there was no choice, even if she was only sixteen. She was pregnant. And her daddy was a deacon in the church. It didn't matter that neither she nor Kenny had any idea how to be married let alone how to be parents.
So Renee tried to...more
So Renee tried to...more
I really enjoyed this book. Having been on a zombie lit kick for awhile it was refreshing to read a well crafted tale that had characters that engaged me and themes that made me use the brains that zombies lust for. :P
Joking aside, Diana Estill has crafted a very good story with issues such as role models, self- esteem, infidelity and discovering ones identity among the top five things approached thematically.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone desirous of reading general fiction becau...more
Joking aside, Diana Estill has crafted a very good story with issues such as role models, self- esteem, infidelity and discovering ones identity among the top five things approached thematically.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone desirous of reading general fiction becau...more
I won't give you the run-down of the story (as others have already done so). Instead, I'll say that I downloaded this as a free read, and it's one of the best freebies I've downloaded. The writing is strong and sure. The characters jump right off the pages. The plot moves along, and kept my interest throughout. Unlike some free reads, this one was edited and written by someone with an eye for detail. No typos!
The only downside for me was the ending. If you are religious, you'll love it. For me,...more
The only downside for me was the ending. If you are religious, you'll love it. For me,...more
One of my recent reads was "Bird by Bird," by Anne Lamott. One of Lamott’s recurring themes is that an author has to tell “the truth.” This may seem strange when fiction, by definition, is a pack of lies; something the author has made up. What Lamott means is that everything about a character’s actions and words has to ring true with the reader. "When Horses Had Wings" rings true. While Renee makes choices and takes actions that are sometimes obviously the wrong thing to do, they are always true...more
Girl and boy have the ‘wrong’ sort of fumble in his car
Girl is pregnant at 16
Girl marries boy
Boy is a violent and abusive – mentally and physically
Girl tries hard to leave boy with young son……
That’s just about the gist of this book: a very, very good book, set in the 1970s. I was captivated from the start. Narrated by Renee, the above-mentioned hapless young girl, an air of melancholy exudes her story. Never, however, do you feel pathetically sorry for her. There is always an element of admirati...more
Girl is pregnant at 16
Girl marries boy
Boy is a violent and abusive – mentally and physically
Girl tries hard to leave boy with young son……
That’s just about the gist of this book: a very, very good book, set in the 1970s. I was captivated from the start. Narrated by Renee, the above-mentioned hapless young girl, an air of melancholy exudes her story. Never, however, do you feel pathetically sorry for her. There is always an element of admirati...more
I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my review. Renee becomes pregnant and marries the baby's Daddy when she's just 16 years old. Her husband, Kenny, is degrading and possessive of her, he doesn't want her to work outside the home, or go to college, or even her GED. She manages to do it anyway, making it all seem like they Kenny's ideas. When things become progressively violent, she ends up leaving him, taking their son with her. During the divorce her life is turned upsi...more
Absolutely fantastic first novel by Dianna Estill. Such a great find! Renee had a rough life getting pregnant at the age of 15, but I am so proud when she makes a hard decision to leave her abusive husband. What happens next is heart-breaking & I cannot imagine it happening to any mother, but she pulls through, makes a life for herslef, and I especially love that it is not your typical fairy-tale ending. I highly recommend it!!
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Diana Estill told a very moving story of an uneducated girl (Renee) in north Texas who at age 15 got pregnant by Kenny, a boy she met at a skating rink. That was 1976 and there were no other choices for Renee than to quit high school and live in poverty with Kenny, who became very abusive and their son Sean. At this time in history women who were in abusive marriages had no support or shelters to go to, and this details how that affected not only her life forever, but that of her son. The writin...more
Really much better than I expected, given the fact that it was free on Kindle this week. The writing was excellent, and the author manages to deal with troubling material without spiraling into melodrama.
Warning for the conservatives: there is some language and some dark thematic elements to wrestle with.
Warning for the conservatives: there is some language and some dark thematic elements to wrestle with.
This was a pretty good book. The reader really could get a clear sense of what the main character was going through. I could see how women who have suffered in abusive relationships could relate to the main character. It was a good story with a somewhat happy ending.
This book started out well but completely lost it in the end. The story could have developed much deeper but it just ends .......I never made a connection between the title and the story line. It is however, a good story about overcoming your circumstances and never giving up.
Interesting enough to recommend but not the best book in the world. Kept my attention- writing was good (not great). I liked it until the very end where it suddenly brought in religion.
Oh, a quick read and it kept my attention so it was good.
Oh, a quick read and it kept my attention so it was good.
This is a story about the daughter of a preacher who gets pregnant and married at Sixteen.her husband turns into an abusive bully. This book tells the story of how she works to escape him.
It was a nice easy read.I read it in an afternoon.
It was a nice easy read.I read it in an afternoon.
Really sad and the end left me feeling like there was no point to reading the book. It felt just like when someone ends their sentence, but their voice sounds like they're going to keep talking and you keep waiting for them to finish....
I really enjoyed this memoir-like novel. It tells the story of Renee Goodchild, who got pregnant at 16 and had to marry her abusive boyfriend. Her marriage was awful, so she decided to take action and change her life, although the outcomes were not always as she expected.
This is the story of a woman who struggles to escape from an abusive husband and build a better life for herself. I enjoyed reading it even though some of the graphic descriptions of abuse made me cringe. The book is very well written.
This is a really sad story so it's good if you're in the mood for that. I did become really invested in the characters and wanted the best for Renee so in that sense I guess the author did a really good job.
Really liked this book. A good story which was a page turner. I've found some pretty good books for free on the kindle downloads. This book was a cross between Where the Heart Is and The Glass Castle.
Jul 01, 2012
Denise
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Adults
Shelves:
own-ebook
What an amazing read! I was seriously impressed with the storyline...the characters...and the plot! I have never read anything by Refill but she quickly became a favorite in my library with just one book!
The first half of the book was terrific. There was a huge drop off the second half, which was unfortunate. I was hooked, but then bored and disappointed.
May 15, 2012
Pt
marked it as to-read
Great book. This book is such an emotional roller coaster for any mother who has been thru a tough marriage and a troubling divorce.
Poor Renee, I grew to hate Kenny more normally than I would when it comes to the 'bad' character in the book. Renee is a strong woman, you have to give her that. I like how well the author convey these characters, playing at our emotions. And the way this story was written is sickeningly beautiful. Tore at my heart strings.
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