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Circle C Adventures #1
Andrea Carter and the Long Ride Home
Includes never-before-seen chapters!
Twelve-year-old Andrea "Andi" Carter attracts trouble the way her palomino horse, Taffy, attracts flies on a hot summer day. Andi's entire family and the staff at the Circle C Ranch treat her like such a pesky kid that she sometimes wonders if they would all be better off without her. After a particularly scary incident where Andi gets in trouble once again, she saddles up Taffy and runs away from home.
But her escape quickly leads to frightening encounters with a horse thief and a vicious young lady--all of which makes Andi realize that there really is no place like home.
Susan Marlow's captivating characters have even more to say in this newly expanded edition of a classic Andi story.
Twelve-year-old Andrea "Andi" Carter attracts trouble the way her palomino horse, Taffy, attracts flies on a hot summer day. Andi's entire family and the staff at the Circle C Ranch treat her like such a pesky kid that she sometimes wonders if they would all be better off without her. After a particularly scary incident where Andi gets in trouble once again, she saddles up Taffy and runs away from home.
But her escape quickly leads to frightening encounters with a horse thief and a vicious young lady--all of which makes Andi realize that there really is no place like home.
Susan Marlow's captivating characters have even more to say in this newly expanded edition of a classic Andi story.
144 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 26, 2005
8 people are currently reading
118 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
July 26, 2017
About this book:
“Twelve-year-old Andrea "Andi" Carter attracts trouble the way her palomino horse, Taffy, attracts flies on a hot summer day. Andi's entire family and the staff at the Circle C Ranch treat her like such a pesky kid that she sometimes wonders if they would all be better off without her. After a particularly scary incident where Andi gets in trouble once again, she saddles up Taffy and runs away from home. But her escape quickly leads to frightening encounters with a horse thief and a vicious young lady. All of which makes Andi realize that there really is no place like home.”
Series: Book #1 in “Circle C Adventures” series. {There also is the “Circle C Milestone” series, (Book #1 review Here!, Book #2 Here!, Book #3 Here, and Book #4 review Here!) set after this series finished.}
Spiritual Content- Prayers; Talks about God & forgiving; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; A few mentions of praying & a crucifix; A few mentions of those in the Bible; A few mentions of church going; A mention of thanking God.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: two ‘stupid’s; Pain, terror, and being whipped (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to slap and hit someone; Andi eavesdrops and runs away from home; Mentions of injuries & almost being trampled (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of hatred & threats of spanking and riding crops; Mentions of abused & mistreated horses; Mentions of thieves & stealing; Mentions of a card game & gambling; Mentions of prejudice and rude people; A few mentions of a death (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of tobacco; A mention of emptying chamber pots.
Sexual Content- Mentions of gentlemen callers & them being moonstruck over Andi’s sister; A couple mentions of a boy being sweet on a girl.
-Andrea “Andie” Carter, age 11/12
P.O.V. of Andie
Set in 1880
128 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- Two Stars
New Teens- Three Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars
Older High School Teens- Three Stars
My personal Rating- Three Stars
I’m not a big horse fan or a ranch/country girl, but I did enjoy it. Younger girls who are into those topics might enjoy it even better.
Since I’ve already read the Circle C Milestones series prior to reading this beginning series, it was neat for me to see how Andi met Rosa. I look forward to going back and seeing Andi when she was young and her adventures. :)
Link to review:
https://booksforchristiangirls.blogsp...
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
“Twelve-year-old Andrea "Andi" Carter attracts trouble the way her palomino horse, Taffy, attracts flies on a hot summer day. Andi's entire family and the staff at the Circle C Ranch treat her like such a pesky kid that she sometimes wonders if they would all be better off without her. After a particularly scary incident where Andi gets in trouble once again, she saddles up Taffy and runs away from home. But her escape quickly leads to frightening encounters with a horse thief and a vicious young lady. All of which makes Andi realize that there really is no place like home.”
Series: Book #1 in “Circle C Adventures” series. {There also is the “Circle C Milestone” series, (Book #1 review Here!, Book #2 Here!, Book #3 Here, and Book #4 review Here!) set after this series finished.}
Spiritual Content- Prayers; Talks about God & forgiving; ‘H’s are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God; A few mentions of praying & a crucifix; A few mentions of those in the Bible; A few mentions of church going; A mention of thanking God.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: two ‘stupid’s; Pain, terror, and being whipped (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to slap and hit someone; Andi eavesdrops and runs away from home; Mentions of injuries & almost being trampled (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of hatred & threats of spanking and riding crops; Mentions of abused & mistreated horses; Mentions of thieves & stealing; Mentions of a card game & gambling; Mentions of prejudice and rude people; A few mentions of a death (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of tobacco; A mention of emptying chamber pots.
Sexual Content- Mentions of gentlemen callers & them being moonstruck over Andi’s sister; A couple mentions of a boy being sweet on a girl.
-Andrea “Andie” Carter, age 11/12
P.O.V. of Andie
Set in 1880
128 pages
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Pre Teens- Two Stars
New Teens- Three Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars
Older High School Teens- Three Stars
My personal Rating- Three Stars
I’m not a big horse fan or a ranch/country girl, but I did enjoy it. Younger girls who are into those topics might enjoy it even better.
Since I’ve already read the Circle C Milestones series prior to reading this beginning series, it was neat for me to see how Andi met Rosa. I look forward to going back and seeing Andi when she was young and her adventures. :)
Link to review:
https://booksforchristiangirls.blogsp...
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
February 18, 2020
Another great Andrea Carter book!
Update: i love this so much!
update 2020: so gooddd
Update: i love this so much!
update 2020: so gooddd
February 11, 2018
Andrea Carter and the Long Ride Home by Susan K. Marlow is the first book in the Circle C Adventures series.
I first read this book and the rest of the Circle C Adventures books when I was 10 or 11. I LOVED them. Plus, the author's blog introduced me to many awesome blogging friends who I still know today. It definitely changed my outlook on internet friendships.
When I decided to re-read them, I was definitely hoping they would be as good as I remembered. Unfortunately, that was not entirely the case.
Don't get me wrong, the book was still good! I just . . . didn't . . . enjoy it as much.
I liked Andi. Mitch is my favorite brother. I love Rosa and I wish we would get to see more of her in later books.
The plot was interesting but kind of typical for a Western-type book. I still enjoyed reading it, though. It kept my attention and was fast-moving.
Overall, it was a good book, although not quite as much as I remembered. It will always hold a special place in my heart, however. 4 stars out of 5.
I first read this book and the rest of the Circle C Adventures books when I was 10 or 11. I LOVED them. Plus, the author's blog introduced me to many awesome blogging friends who I still know today. It definitely changed my outlook on internet friendships.
When I decided to re-read them, I was definitely hoping they would be as good as I remembered. Unfortunately, that was not entirely the case.
Don't get me wrong, the book was still good! I just . . . didn't . . . enjoy it as much.
I liked Andi. Mitch is my favorite brother. I love Rosa and I wish we would get to see more of her in later books.
The plot was interesting but kind of typical for a Western-type book. I still enjoyed reading it, though. It kept my attention and was fast-moving.
Overall, it was a good book, although not quite as much as I remembered. It will always hold a special place in my heart, however. 4 stars out of 5.
tbr-1
March 8, 2022Free on amazon (8/3/2022).
January 29, 2016
Short but sweet Christian fiction book for pre-teens.
March 10, 2025
Audiobook: I enjoyed the first book of this series. I appreciated the worldbuilding which brought to life the lives of people in the 1880's in California. I liked the characters created by this author as they were realistic, and this made Andrea Carter both likeable and understandable, even though there were times when I just wanted her to stop and think before she followed her course of actions. I thought Annette Romano's narration was great, and her performance enhanced the story's entertainment. I was given a copy of the audiobook. I volunteered, without financial gain, to post this review which reflected my honest opinions regarding this audiobook.
July 28, 2019
A favorite from my tween years, I've been meaning to revisit this series for quite some time. I've read this, the first book, several times. Going back to it, I found it good, but not great. Hoping to actually make it through the whole series this time, as I think I may enjoy later ones more since I haven't read them so many times.
February 13, 2019
Somewhere between a 3.5 star and 4 star read. I really enjoyed this Andrea Carter story but I had a hard time reading about the animal cruelty, which played a large part of the book. The characters were wonderful, as always and I loved Andi’s character development, it was quite drastic.
July 9, 2020
This almost reminds me 9f may Amelia...
April 16, 2025
This series birthed my love of reading. I love it with all my heart. You can't break the bond between a girl and the book that made her love reading.
March 3, 2023
Number of pages: 128
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series: Circle C. Adventures #1
Age recommendation: written for 9-13, but I would say 10-13 years. (As a nine-year-old, my sister said some parts were too scary for her).
Summary: Extra chores from angry brothers was not how Andi wanted to spend her Saturday. When her brother humiliates her in front of the ranch hands it is the last straw. Andi decides to run away from home until her family can learn to see things her way.
My thoughts: I really like this book. It’s interesting, and the characters are realistic (I think Mrs. Marlow really captured the contrary nature of preteens). Although I’m not sure how many preteens would run away from home…
My favourite part is when Andi speaks Spanish because Felicity demands she show off her English skills for her guests. (Andi is living with a Mexican family and Felicity is unaware that Andi isn’t part of their family). Felicity’s reaction is funny and she totally deserved it.
I also really like Rosa… she is really nice. And she helps bring to light some of the discrimination against Mexicans/Spanish speaking people.
Overall it’s a really good book for preteens/new teens.
My personal rating: 4/5 stars.
Link to blog: https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...
Genre: Historical Fiction
Series: Circle C. Adventures #1
Age recommendation: written for 9-13, but I would say 10-13 years. (As a nine-year-old, my sister said some parts were too scary for her).
Summary: Extra chores from angry brothers was not how Andi wanted to spend her Saturday. When her brother humiliates her in front of the ranch hands it is the last straw. Andi decides to run away from home until her family can learn to see things her way.
My thoughts: I really like this book. It’s interesting, and the characters are realistic (I think Mrs. Marlow really captured the contrary nature of preteens). Although I’m not sure how many preteens would run away from home…
My favourite part is when Andi speaks Spanish because Felicity demands she show off her English skills for her guests. (Andi is living with a Mexican family and Felicity is unaware that Andi isn’t part of their family). Felicity’s reaction is funny and she totally deserved it.
I also really like Rosa… she is really nice. And she helps bring to light some of the discrimination against Mexicans/Spanish speaking people.
Overall it’s a really good book for preteens/new teens.
My personal rating: 4/5 stars.
Link to blog: https://karinaschristianreads.wordpre...
March 12, 2015
Susan K. Marlow is an engaging writer who takes the willing reader on a fascinating journey with her main character, Andrea "Andi" Carter as Andi experiences the regular struggles of a girl growing up, plus some extra action added by the time period of the Old West.
Long Ride Home shows such a love within the Carter family. It makes me wish that I had a larger family! Important lessons in the book are that nothing is able to replace the love of your family, the importance of asking for help when you need it, the necessity of taking the consequences of your actions, the truth that what you do affects those around you (especially family), and that a true family loves you no matter what! I strongly encourage those who have not yet saddled up for a ride with Andi to do so as soon as possible! Why wait any longer to travel back and land in the middle of adventure?!
Long Ride Home shows such a love within the Carter family. It makes me wish that I had a larger family! Important lessons in the book are that nothing is able to replace the love of your family, the importance of asking for help when you need it, the necessity of taking the consequences of your actions, the truth that what you do affects those around you (especially family), and that a true family loves you no matter what! I strongly encourage those who have not yet saddled up for a ride with Andi to do so as soon as possible! Why wait any longer to travel back and land in the middle of adventure?!
October 14, 2015
For Juvenile Christian fiction, this was an excellent read! I had read a couple of Marlow's pieces that portray Andi Carter as a young adult, and saw this series listed in those books. I'm so glad I found this series for my horse-lover middle school girls! They show great moral principles, a dependence on God and humility when Andi makes wrong choices. They show good relationships between family members, and an appreciation for the material possessions Andi had previously taken for granted. Loved it, and and looking forward to finding the rest of the Circle C books!
July 5, 2023
Every single Circle C book is amazing! I grew up reading the books from when Andi was just a little girl, now I have read every single one of the books. Even the extra short stories that have been put out recently. They're all so good! You're gonna cry, laugh, and keep flipping the page because the book is so exciting! I definitely recommend!
March 31, 2010
Bought this at our local homeschool convention over the weekend from the author, who is a real delight! Once started, I don't think my daughter put it down until it was finished!
April 28, 2011
I loved the book and i am staring the second book. Great book and i recommend this book to anyone
August 9, 2011
i loved this book! it kept me wanting to know more throughout the whole thing and i had trouble putting it down!!!
January 14, 2012
This book is really good!
November 18, 2016
This is the best young girl series! I have re-read these books many times:)
November 14, 2015
Excellent
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August 28, 2008Awesome book by Susan Marlow (I know her! She's cool! LOL!)
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews