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148th out of 333 books
—
400 voters
Take the Reins (Canterwood Crest #1)
by
Jessica Burkhart (Goodreads Author)
When Sasha Silver and her horse, Charm, arrive on the campus of the elite Canterwood Crest Academy, Sasha knows that she's in trouble. She's not exactly welcomed with open arms. One group of girls in particular is used to being the best, the brightest, and the prettiest on the team, and when Sasha shows her skills in the arena, the girls' claws come out.
Sasha is determined...more
Sasha is determined...more
Paperback, 249 pages
Published
January 27th 2009
by Aladdin
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i loved this book and found a new series to read! this book seems so real if you know what i mean i some books our thinking that would never happen in real life it was very good and i'm looking fowerd to the next book chasing blue
I read this book for the first time in the 5th grade. For my ten-year-old self this was the best book that had ever been penned. I bought the whole Canterwood series and some of the new series as well. Now I regret every cent I paid. While I admit for a shallower reader who is looking for a distraction or fun instead of a deep plot and characters this is a good book. I don't reccomend it for anyone over the age of 13 simply because they will be rolling their eyes the entire time at show ignorant...more
1 like · like · see review
I love the book Canterwood Crest; Take the reins. This is book is about star horseback rider Sasha Silver and her horse Charm and how they enter an elite boarding school with an excellent riding program. Only the best of the best can handle it, especially with all the pressure of mean girl Heather Fox and her superior horse Aristocrat. Heather and her "Trio" which consists of Julia Meyers with Trix and Alison Robb with Sunstruck, try to make her life as miserable as possible in order to send he...more
4 likes · like · see review
When I started Take The Reins, I wasn’t really sure what I was going to think of it. I had not read any middle grade books for a while and was worried that I wouldn’t enjoy it. At first the writing was a bit hard to get used to, especially since I had just finished Into the Wild, which is a fantastic read, but vocabulary and writing is so much more adult it was difficult to get into the flow at first. Once I did though, it was a very fast cute read.
I really liked how Sasha’s character unfolds th...more
I really liked how Sasha’s character unfolds th...more
Sep 18, 2012
Donna
rated it
2 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
People who don't mind shallow, crappy characters and being bored to death.
Recommended to Donna by:
My sister and the Horse Lovers Only group.
This book was not as good as I expected it to be. With my sister being obsessed with the series, and people in the Horse Lovers Only group reccommending it to me, I really expected it to be better. I was really disapointed with it. There are heaps of better horse books out there that follow a similiar storyline.
Firstly, there was hardly any plot. I didn't really feel like enough happened. It was just a bunch of kids standing around doing stuff. It was horribly boring, and the characters weren't...more
Firstly, there was hardly any plot. I didn't really feel like enough happened. It was just a bunch of kids standing around doing stuff. It was horribly boring, and the characters weren't...more
I'm not sure if the fact that I don't usually read equestrian novels affects my judgement, but I found this a quite typical series. The same girl goes to an academy and it's not all that cracked up to be, makes a few enemies, makes a few friends, fall in love, and lose a few friends that we see in most indie series. Testament to this is how it barely made an impact on me because I don't even remember the details or even much of the story and characters save the general idea and plot. I probably...more
2 likes · like · see review
CANTERWOOD CREST TAKE THE REINS
Jessica Burkhart
Realistic Fiction
249 pages
CANTERWOOD CREST TAKE THE REINS by Jessica Burkhart is about a girl named Sasha Silver who is accepted into a new school. Canterwood is very different from Sasha’s old school, Briar Creek. She was only there one day and she already had made an enemy. She doesn’t know it, but Sasha is in for a big surprise. Heather, Sasha’s enemy, has it in for Sasha. After that accident Heather seeks revenge. On testing day Sasha is put in...more
Jessica Burkhart
Realistic Fiction
249 pages
CANTERWOOD CREST TAKE THE REINS by Jessica Burkhart is about a girl named Sasha Silver who is accepted into a new school. Canterwood is very different from Sasha’s old school, Briar Creek. She was only there one day and she already had made an enemy. She doesn’t know it, but Sasha is in for a big surprise. Heather, Sasha’s enemy, has it in for Sasha. After that accident Heather seeks revenge. On testing day Sasha is put in...more
1 like · like · see review
Nov 29, 2012
Juliana
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
horse lovers!
Shelves:
horse-books-i-ve-read
i thought it was a good pilot book to the series and i really enjoyed it. it makes me wish i can go to Canterwood and have friends at the barn like Sasha's but i thought the whole thing was extremely predictable and i couldnt help but finding some mistakes in equestrian terms...however it was a good read and i enjoyed it!
Mar 25, 2010
Jenny
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
everyone who likes adventure,horses, and a fast paced book
Recommended to Jenny by:
Abby K
When Sasha Silver first set eyes on her acceptance letter to Canterwood Crest, she realized that her previous riding performances and good grades would not be as easily achieved in this high academic school. She has to prove that she is up to the challenges that Canterwood Crest provides.
Making a good first impression immediately disappears when her horse, Charm, goes on a wild rampage within the first ten minutes after arriving. Charm’s run makes Sasha a new arch enemy and rival that thwarts...more
Making a good first impression immediately disappears when her horse, Charm, goes on a wild rampage within the first ten minutes after arriving. Charm’s run makes Sasha a new arch enemy and rival that thwarts...more
Once upon a time, my 'wee middle school' self stumbled upon this book at Barnes and Noble. Let's just say, I was totally unaware of the new series I had just discovered... Myself, never being much a reader, but a definite horse lover, immediately fell in love with these books. Everything about them: the picture-perfect setting, variety of characters, plot, and Burkhart's style . Yes, I must admit, these books were full of cliches, cheesy scenarios, and love triangles, BUT that didn't stop me fro...more
Take The Reins (Canterwood Crest, #1) by Jessica Burkhart
Summary (from back of book): When Sasha Silver and her horse, Charm, arrive on the campus of the elite Canterwood Crest Academy, Sasha knows that she’s in trouble. She’s not exactly welcomed with open arms. One group of girls in particular is used to being the best, the brightest, and the prettiest on the team, and when Sasha shows her skills in the arena, the girls’ claws come out.
Sasha is determined to prove that she belongs at Canterwoo...more
Summary (from back of book): When Sasha Silver and her horse, Charm, arrive on the campus of the elite Canterwood Crest Academy, Sasha knows that she’s in trouble. She’s not exactly welcomed with open arms. One group of girls in particular is used to being the best, the brightest, and the prettiest on the team, and when Sasha shows her skills in the arena, the girls’ claws come out.
Sasha is determined to prove that she belongs at Canterwoo...more
I read this book at the request of my daughter. It is a very sweet book for tweens about friendship, teamwork, and responsibility. It is about a boarding school where some of the girls are on a riding team with their horses. In the book struggles of friendship, how to handle responsibility, and working together as a team are presented. It has a very good ending where everything gets tied up very nicely. What I liked the most is that there is a bully at the school who does some pretty harsh thing...more
How terribly typical. And this girl who is 12 seems more like an immature 15 or 16 year old, 14 at the least. And there is barely much to do with horses. Even the plot is all about Sasha and the mean girl. OK book, but if you love horses don't expect much horse stuff.
1 like · like · see review
My friend down they street was reading these books non stop they did not look like normal book I would pick up and read but I did. Canterwood Crest Take the Reins by: Jessica Burkhart This book talks about a girl named Sasha Silver starting a new year at a boarding school in Connecticut. She was in a small town the year before and had come to this up scale boarding school. The first day she was already off on the wrong foot messing with one of the best riders named Heather Fox when Sasha's horse...more
Canterwood Crest’s first novel opens with a nervous Sasha’s internal debate on lip gloss.
I paused in my reading.
I was looking for a horse book, here, after all. There was a picture on the front of a girl (admittedly, a little sloe-eyed for a tween) wearing a hard-hat and holding the reins of a horse. I wasn’t particularly interested in the emotional dilemmas of a middle school boarding school student, at least, not the ones that didn’t pertain to horses. And in my experience, horse girls just d...more
I paused in my reading.
I was looking for a horse book, here, after all. There was a picture on the front of a girl (admittedly, a little sloe-eyed for a tween) wearing a hard-hat and holding the reins of a horse. I wasn’t particularly interested in the emotional dilemmas of a middle school boarding school student, at least, not the ones that didn’t pertain to horses. And in my experience, horse girls just d...more
Love the series. It takes me less than 45 minutes to read them. They are what I love to read, horses/riding, friendships and romance. Surely the first page was all about lip gloss but after that I was hooked. I always will re-read them, I never do that with other books. When Sasha comes to a new school, she and her horse, Charm are the "new ones". That means the trio of mean girls can mess up her first week in front of everyone. But Sasha takes the reins and steps up her game, no more faults on...more
This is such a great book! I loved this book. Totally reccomend this book!!! CANTERWOOD CREST ROCKS!
1 like · like · see review
This book is about a girl named Sasha she is new to Center Wood Crest when she first gets there she dose not start off with a good start.Then Sasha meets her roommate she is very happy with her roommate after her very bad start.Sasha had made an enemy with her bad start so they do bad things to each other like take each others horses to a different stall.Will this fight ever stop or will they keep on fighting?
I like this book because it talks about how a girl that is struggling she is still work...more
I like this book because it talks about how a girl that is struggling she is still work...more
This is exactly what the cover implies. The Saddle Club meets The Clique/Gossip Girl. Sasha starts at the prestigious Canterwood Academy, hoping to qualify for their advanced riding team. She spends most of the book fighting off the back-stabbing Heather, who's worried Sasha will steal her place on the advanced team.
Oh, and there's a very vanilla romance with a Zac Efron lookalike boy, of course.
Personally, I could have done with less backstabbing and catfighting (and maybe the riding instruct...more
Oh, and there's a very vanilla romance with a Zac Efron lookalike boy, of course.
Personally, I could have done with less backstabbing and catfighting (and maybe the riding instruct...more
This Book is about 12 year ol Sasha Silver who is just about to start her first year at Canterwood Crest Academy. She is both scared and excited, but more scared! She says there is so many rules to try and remeber! She is scared about her grades, what her roomie will be like and shes most scared of what her riding lessons will be like.
This is a really good book that i finished in about two days. I have to say that i had m doubts about it, but am totally glad i took it out of the library! I am d...more
This is a really good book that i finished in about two days. I have to say that i had m doubts about it, but am totally glad i took it out of the library! I am d...more
amazing it's perfect for me!
This book was a cute and clean read for juvenile fiction.
However, I kept reading the main character as a freshman in high school not a seventh grader and same thing with her rival, I saw her as an older high schooler. There was something a little too sophisticated about the things the main character said and did on her own and with her friends (along with what they were studying) for middle schoolers but then again I'm only basing this off of my own seventh grade experiences, everyone's differen...more
However, I kept reading the main character as a freshman in high school not a seventh grader and same thing with her rival, I saw her as an older high schooler. There was something a little too sophisticated about the things the main character said and did on her own and with her friends (along with what they were studying) for middle schoolers but then again I'm only basing this off of my own seventh grade experiences, everyone's differen...more
Nov 06, 2012
Jennifer Wardrip
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
trt-posted-reviews,
trt-gold-star-award-winner
Reviewed by Jennifer Rummel for TeensReadToo.com
Sasha Silver is ready for more. She's enrolled in Canterwood Crest, a serious riding school. But in the first hour, she loses control of her frightened horse - causing an accidental spill. In doing so, she made her first enemy.
Luckily, Sasha adores her roommate, Paige, who isn't involved in the equestrian side of school. Canterwood Crest is a huge step up from her previous riding experiences. Sasha hopes that she can live up to the school's reputat...more
Sasha Silver is ready for more. She's enrolled in Canterwood Crest, a serious riding school. But in the first hour, she loses control of her frightened horse - causing an accidental spill. In doing so, she made her first enemy.
Luckily, Sasha adores her roommate, Paige, who isn't involved in the equestrian side of school. Canterwood Crest is a huge step up from her previous riding experiences. Sasha hopes that she can live up to the school's reputat...more
Usually I like to take horse books with several grains of salt, because they tend to involve a lot of weirdness and wish fulfillment that I, as a person who rides horses, could do without. With a horse book series aimed at tweens, I'm even more cautious, because even authors who are experienced with horses will tend to write a total horse fantasy for this audience.
Jessica Burkhart, being a Thoroughbred series fan, could have stumbled with this series, but she doesn't. The book opens with Sasha...more
Jessica Burkhart, being a Thoroughbred series fan, could have stumbled with this series, but she doesn't. The book opens with Sasha...more
It was an easy and much similar read than I anticipated. That said, I still enjoyed it. There were some obvious editing errors, and perhaps even some horsie errors, but I tried not to pay attention to those and just enjoy the book. It is a very stereotypical read, where these riding boarding schools are ultra-competitive and the sabotage of other riders/horses comes out. And one last comment - some of the language in this book takes into account the changing English language due to technology an...more
wow i just picked this book up thinking i need a good book and i like horse books. well i didn't have a clue how it would be other than the back cover. its kind of like chestnut hill but better even though in this book they are younger. it was kind of nice having the main character to have money but not be spoiled but still likin g simple things like lip gloss and not being all i am so cool. well i could write mre about how every character is but i won't but i will say I LOVE THIS BOOK!!!!!
1 like · like · see review
I adored this book! I read it in the same day, and devoured it. I loved how Jessica Burkhart described every detail. It made me feel like I was there. AMAZING SERIES! I have made to Book 5; I ran out of money. This is an all out drama, boy loving, adventure, romance series. If you even love one you should read these books. I admire how she continues and continuesnto write the series which keeps me continuing to read it and love it. Read. This. Book!
My 10 year old daughter LOVES this series and insisted I read it. I agree with her assessment. The book tells the story of a girl who goes to a private boarding school. She is an equestrian, striving to succeed on a very competitive team. I liked the strong role model she presents - and the friendships with the other girls. There are the normal back-stabbing teen-aged angst, and the beginning of a slight romance between the protagonist and a boy.
sasha is a girl who just came from a horse riding school..to a top of the line riding school. The school she goes to now in Canter Wood Crest. The first day she gets there, she meets her worst enemy, heather. When sasha tries out for the intermediate team, she makes it! and then she tries out for the advanced team and she makes it to! Heather takes this as a threat and does everything she can to get sasha off of the team. But sasha is too much for heather because sasha is the best! In her first...more
I liked the book enough to place a request for the next volume at the library, but I was still a little disappointed with the cookie cutter plot. I was hoping for more horsey stuff and less of Sasha studying to keep up in her classes. I am still enamored with the thought of actually getting to take a horse to boarding school. I wonder if I can take mine to the nursing home?
See my complete review here:
http://www.mangamaniaccafe.com/?p=3806
See my complete review here:
http://www.mangamaniaccafe.com/?p=3806
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| is this book good? | 9 | 14 | Mar 07, 2013 08:52am | |
| Who thinks this book wasn't as good as the other Canterwoods | 2 | 3 | Nov 03, 2012 10:58am | |
| canter wood crest | 38 | 47 | Sep 29, 2012 02:38pm |
Twenty-two year old Jessica Burkhart is a writer from New York City. She’s crazy about horses, lip gloss and all things pink and sparkly. Jess was an equestrian before she started writing. Now, she writes the bi-monthly Canterwood Crest series for Aladdin MIX.
More about Jessica Burkhart...
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