Ashleigh's Hope

Thoroughbred: Super Editions #3

by Joanna Campbell (Creator)

Accepted into the exclusive Chesterton Riding Academy, a thrilled Ashleigh Griffen pursues her lifelong dream of owning a horse and is confronted by jealous fellow students who attempt to sabotage her efforts during an important competition

Genres: Horses, Childrens, Animals, Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fiction, Horse Racing

179 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

See Jo Ann Simon

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a kids book, I enjoyed my time reading this. Could’ve easily finished this in one or two sittings without having to have that much time on my hands. I liked watching the character of Diana change. I liked Ashleigh as a person. My only qualm is that I would often forget she is only ten. She was written as if she was much older. A lot was packed into this short little book and is making me excited for the rest of the thoroughbred series books.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the third Super Edition of the Thoroughbred series, but chronologically this comes before the second Super edition, Ashleigh's Diary, itself a prequel of the series proper. So, this book is a prequel of a prequel.

And thankfully Joanna Campbell (real nane Jo Ann Simon) doesn't write this. It's done by Karen Bently, who would write the Cindy and Glory part of the series. This book shares many similarities with Glory's Triumph so I wonder if they were written at the same time. Both books have problems with kids getting along with other kids, for example. Bently would be the only ghostwriter that Campbell/Simon liked, according to a 2014 online interview.

Bently is a much better writer than Campbell/Simon. She uses harder volcabulary words (that I think kids would understand anyway) and is a far more descriptive writer than Campbell/Simon. Her descriptions add really nice touches, such as fence posts in the snow looking like pointing fingers. She doesn't go overboard on the descriptions -- just adds the right amount.

She also gives the horses better and more original names, shows more of a horse's personality or quirks which turns them into real characters and not props for the human characters. She also made Ashleigh more witty and quick-thinking than she is in Campbell's hands. For example, after a gray colt misbehaves, Ashleigh scolds him for trying to be a "gray tornado." Try to find something like that in any of the books written by Campbell/Simon.

The big problem is that Ashleigh's happy world would so soon be shattered. So this book is sort of a lie. I suppose if you only read this book in the entire 70+ series, you could consider this book complete in and of itself. But it's just the tip of a big iceberg.

There's also a continuity problem with the series. In the second book, Wonder's Promise Ashleigh says on page 116 that she'd never been to a racetrack and that her parents never had reason to go to a track. But this pre-prequel begins at a racetrack, where her parents have claimed a race mare to take back to the farm.

And just how large is that horse on the cover? Ashleigh was short, less than 5'6" and so was a short kid, but that Thoroughbred must be eighteen hands or more to be so large.

[Lizzy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know this is a book written for kids...

Ashleigh is written more like her older self and not like a ten year old. Same with her brother.

The stuff with Mona was a little crazy. Ashleigh is weirdly mature about her bully and then ok with that?

The stuff with Silver was really touching. Kinda crazy that the horse has a catastrophic injury in a basic easy beginner jumping lesson despite his fancy training though, and yet this is more dangerous than thoroughbred racing!!!?? Also I love that a BONE STICKING OUT OF THE SKIN is a 20% chance of recovery.

The stuff with Stardust was sweet, and they handled Moe and the other horses’ stories well too.

What with Caro’s traumatic injury and Ashleigh’s weirdness about jumping, this is knocked down to a three.

[JoReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Childhood favourite series (haven't read in a long time) giving all four stars unless it was a favourite as a child.

[Carolyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this when I was 12 but it was a fun re-read for the nostalgia :)

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this because it was reminscent of the characters I grew to like at the beginning of the series.