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Thoroughbred #60
Taking the Reins
Now that high school is behind them, will Christina and Melanie be able to make the right choices about their futures and still remain friends?
They're out of school and Christina and Melanie are taking a year off to make some big decisions. Christina is torn between the exciting life of a jockey and working as a vet, helping the horses she loves. And then there is her horse, Wonder's Star. After all their hard work, can Christina really leave the track – and Star – behind?
Melanie's future as a jockey seems clear. But her relationships with the people she loves – especially Christina – are less certain. Christina accuses her cousin of putting her career above everything – and everybody. How can Melanie prove that the people she loves comes first?
Ages 9+
176 pages, Paperback
First published July 29, 2003
264 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
August 28, 2014
my favorite part was when christina was riding again. the worst part was the accident. my favorite character was christina. there was no worst character. auryn 11 years old, 2014
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 30, 2025
When Charismatic broke down in the stretch of the 1999 Belmont Stakes going for the Triple Crown, his trainer D. Wayne Lukas was asked if he was upset. "No," he replied. "I have a barn full of two year olds."
Cold as that reply was, it is the usual attitude of anyone in the horse racing industry. They just don't care. Those that do, tend to get out of racing.
So, although Christina's guilt and grief over Callie's death is considered over the top by those in the industry, it was an appropriate response. She also began to consider another career besides being a jockey -- that, too, was an appropriate response.
Jennifer Chu was the best writer the Thoroughbred series ever had, but HarperCollins only let her write three books before showing her the door. In her trio of books, she showed knowledge of not only veterinary science, but of the inner workings of the Thoroughbred characters. This was because she was the only known ghostwriter to have been a fan of the series. I think this was the only book in the series that bounced between the points of view of Christina and Melanie.
After she left, the series became a parody of itself. The ideas presented by Chu were mostly dropped by HarperCollins and the other ghostwriters, particularly Mary Newhall Anderson, who couldn't even be bothered to learn the basics of horse racing, or read any of the previous books in the series. The only idea she kept from Chu was that Christina was thinking about maybe becoming a vet, possibly.
The Thoroughbred series was known for some spectacularly bad covers, but this one was by far the fugliest.
Cold as that reply was, it is the usual attitude of anyone in the horse racing industry. They just don't care. Those that do, tend to get out of racing.
So, although Christina's guilt and grief over Callie's death is considered over the top by those in the industry, it was an appropriate response. She also began to consider another career besides being a jockey -- that, too, was an appropriate response.
Jennifer Chu was the best writer the Thoroughbred series ever had, but HarperCollins only let her write three books before showing her the door. In her trio of books, she showed knowledge of not only veterinary science, but of the inner workings of the Thoroughbred characters. This was because she was the only known ghostwriter to have been a fan of the series. I think this was the only book in the series that bounced between the points of view of Christina and Melanie.
After she left, the series became a parody of itself. The ideas presented by Chu were mostly dropped by HarperCollins and the other ghostwriters, particularly Mary Newhall Anderson, who couldn't even be bothered to learn the basics of horse racing, or read any of the previous books in the series. The only idea she kept from Chu was that Christina was thinking about maybe becoming a vet, possibly.
The Thoroughbred series was known for some spectacularly bad covers, but this one was by far the fugliest.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews