A Horse for Mandy

by Lurlene McDaniel

It's Mandy's thirteenth birthday and her dream is coming true: She's getting a beautiful horse of her very own! But Mandy's best friend, Laura, doesn't seem very happy for her. Then tragedy strikes. Can Mandy and her new horse save Laura?

Genres: Young Adult, Horses, Childrens, Middle Grade, Contemporary, Animals

80 pages, ebook

First published January 1, 1981

About the author

Lurlene McDaniel (born c. 1948) is an author who has written over 50 young adult books. She is well known for writing about characters struggling with chronic and terminal illnesses, such as cancer, diabetes, and organ failure.


Other places to find her are...
https://www.facebook.com/lurlenemcdan...
http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/aut...
http://www.youtube.com/user/LurleneMc

Reviews

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

My nickname was Mandy. Like all unimaginative young girls, I wanted a horse. This book was fate at the Scholastic book fair.

[Arielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is pretty much exactly what it needs to be, except with the melodrama turned up to 14. On the surface, it's about friendship and being kind to your friends as they change and you change. It's about recognizing people for who they are and helping them be those people. Sort of, mostly. It's also for age eight and up, so let's not go to nutty on the themes.
But then there's boy drama and tragedy and friendship on the rocks. And because it's Lurlene, we also learn on page three that Mandy's mom died eight years ago. Is it ever referenced again? Of course not.
It's fast and I learned about horses. What more could an eight-year-old want?

[Mary Bronson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a heartwarming book. I loved the plot and characters of the story. Just like all of her other books, Lurlene McDaniel did a great job writing this. It was short, but good and like most of her books I was crying by the end of it.

[Stephanie A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Longstanding curiosity about her oldest work satisfied; this is a story suitable for 7 to 10-year-olds or Hi-Lo readers, featuring horses (specifically as a vehicle to shine a breed spotlight on the Paso Fino), friendship drama over A Cute Boy, and heroic search-and-rescue to repair that friendship -- not to mention a quick 24-hour detour to learn about and treat an instance of founder -- all crammed into 75 pages. The newer cover is very pretty, though I'm not sure why there's a foal on it, but I just learned that the original paperback was illustrated with photographs, so my quest is not yet done.

P.S. "Solana" is indeed a very beautiful name for a buckskin mare.

[Lacy Dohner · Rating 2 out of 5]

The summer of Mandy’s thirteenth birthday brings the excitement of a new horse and a first crush, as well as the heartbreak of a falling out with her best friend, Laura. Laura’s disappearance tests Mandy’s true priorities and the strength of the girls’ friendship.

This is a very brief read with a straightforward plot and minimal character development. Might be a good introductory chapter book for horse-loving elementary schoolers, but outside of that, it's not particularly good quality and doesn't stand out from dozens of other horse stories like it.

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

first i found this on epic so i read this,it was so COOL. this is my favorite book!

[Traceylee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why

I am a 57 year old that loves all Lauren McDaniel books. This is the first one I didn't like. Maybe because I am not a teenager.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A horse for Mandy, is about a girl who loves horses and who's rich best friend, Laura, has a whole barn of them and sometimes even let's her ride her own horse, Diablo. All Mandy wants for her thirteenth birthday is a pretty horse like Diablo, but like her parents would let her have one, or she thought so. On her birthday, her dad surprises her and what do you know, she gets her own horse. Her horse isn't as fancy as Diablo though, and the girls get into a fight and Laura runs away from Mandy and the barn, after Mandy accidentally left her horse, Solona's stall door open and she goes outside and got hurt. I have told you a lot already, so to find out the ending, you'll have to read this great book for horse-lovers or anyone who loves a great, touching story!

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book really only got four stars because I loved it as a kid (honestly a lot of books get my sympathy because I loved them when I was younger). In the way of great literature, it's not all that strong, but it's a good little book, especially for horse crazy young girls. For what it is, it's good enough. :)

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes! I recognized this book from my youth when I randomly stumbled upon it as I was browsing around on fantasticfiction. I used to read every single horse book that I could get my hands on, and I have fond memories of all of them. This story centers around Mandy and her new Paso Fino, Solana.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Horse for Mandy is about a girl named Mandy who has a friend that owns a stable. On Mandy's 13 th birthday her father gets her a horse. When her friend gets lost and her horse is hurt... it's up to Mandy to save her friend. Will Mandy save her friend's life? Find out in A Horse for Mandy.

[Marrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating Clarification: 3.5

This book reminds me of my childhood. I read it every summer until I was around ten or eleven. While it's certainly not the most well written piece of literature I've ever read, this book makes me nostalgic which probably spawned my higher rating.

[Rockin Rachael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Best!

[Mary]

this is a good book.

[Hpitcher · Rating 2 out of 5]

okay for a kid its only 75 pages long

[Joanna Warrens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very quick read (30 MINUTES?)but well written and sweet.

[Melenia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay read

[Mariah Kemp · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a unique book

[The Third Place A Teen Library]

F McDA