Jumper

by Michele Martin Bossley

Reese loves horses and longs to be a competitive show jumper . When the leased horse she rides is sold, she is left riding the orneriest horse in the stable. She decides she must find a horse of her own. Her parents can't afford a trained horse, so she decides to buy a wild horse at auction. Outbid, she discovers that many of the wild horses will be sold for slaughter. Determined to save the horses from a terrible fate, she finds herself in deeper than she expected―and fighting for her life.

Genres: Horses

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

MICHELE MARTIN BOSSLEY was born in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., but grew up in Calgary from the time she was five. She is the author of numerous children's books, including "Taking a Dive, " runner-up for the R. Ross Annett Award in Children's Literature, and "The Perfect Gymnast, " nominated for the 1999 Manitoba Reader's Choice Award. Many of her novels have been Canadian Children's Centre Our Choice selections including "Goon Squad", "The Winning Edge", and "Trapped". One of her more recent books, "Pool Princess, " has been nominated for a Golden Eagle Children's

Reviews

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hi-lo story for tweens and young teens who enjoy horses. How Reese acquires a horse by exposing a dishonest horse owner makes for a fast-paced and intense story.
If you like horses, stories about unlikely friends or stories with tense moments, give this one a try.

[Paula Vazquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

I choose to read this book because I like horses and I wanted to read about them because they interest me a lot. The story is about a girl that couldn't afford a horse so she used the school horses. But then she saw wild horses and she fell in love with one but they put it in an auction. So she tried to go but somebody else got the horse and the person who got the horse wanted to kill it so she tried everything possible for that not to happen. I really enjoyed the book because I thought it was really interesting. And also it had a lot of action, which I like that in a book because if it doesn’t have action I usually get bored.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Sally Kruger, aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

There are more and more young adult books being written today with sports themes, but I don't see many with an equestrian theme. Orca Book Publishers author Michele Martin Bossley's JUMPER offers just that. Aimed at a younger tween audience, JUMPER presents an adventure centered on the sport of show jumping.

Reese has found her true love - a great horse named Dublin. Their personalities complement one another and with practice they may have a real shot at the competition. Unfortunately, Reese doesn't own Dublin. The horse's owners are selling her, leaving Reese to "borrow" a much less desirable horse named Boots. Prospects of winning any competition fade away as it becomes obvious that there is no chemistry between rider and mount.

Reese's parents don't offer much hope that they can afford to purchase a better horse for their daughter. Then along comes Reese's grandfather with a possible solution for the problem. The military owns land nearby and is auctioning some wild horses that have been living on the land. Grandfather suggests that the auction prices might be low enough for Reese to purchase her own horse.

There is a beautiful red horse in the herd. Reese immediately knows she's the one. When another bidder outbids them the real adventure begins. It turns out that the new owner has other plans for the horses he purchased, and Reese is determined to put a stop to those plans.

At only a little over 140 pages and written at an easy-to-read level, JUMPER is sure to be popular with horse enthusiasts. The characters are surprisingly well-developed and the action includes examples of show jumping, as well as fast-paced attempts to stop the bad guys. JUMPER is a fun, quick read.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The main character is a girl name Reese, who loves to jump. Reese even though doesn’t own her own horse and just leases a horse. Later in the book Reese finds this mustang and she has been thinking she can train her to ride and to be her own, to move up in show jumping.
My opinion on Reese training her own horse is a good idea but bad at the same time. I think it’s good that way the both of them can learn together. The bad thing is that she doesn’t know how to train a mustang and even with help that would cost money. Mustangs are mainly high temper to. I liked this book it shows if you work hard at something no matter how many struggles you go through it will be all worth it in the end. Someone who would like this book is someone that knows about horses and a little bit of action too.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my opinion, I really enjoyed reading the novel JUMPER by Michele Martin Bossley. This book was filled with excitement that kept me on the edge of my seat. The story line was very well written and I loved the characters personalities. This novel made me feel as if I were in Reese's shoes, going though all the tough challenges she had to face. This book was very good and I would recommend this book to any reader, especially readers who love horses.

[Miriam · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a book for horse loving girls with a few horse race jumping scenes, girl drama, and a quest to rescue horses from the meat packing plant. This is an Orca book: short, with a plot line for teens and an easier reading level. It's designed to be high interest and make reading successful.

[H.orses · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute short read packed with the action of saving a herd of wild horses. I liked it and must have finished it in a half an hour or less it was so quick for me.