Close Call

Thoroughbred #41

by Joanna Campbell (Creator), Karle Dickerson

Parker's Olympic dream is at risk...

Parker Townsend and Christina Reese haven't seen much of each other lately. Parker is competing in the Olympic trials in combined training and Christina is racing Thoroughbreds. When Parker meets Lyssa Hynde, things only get worse.

Lyssa, the daughter of a Montana rancher who rides her horse without a bit, has been winning everything and is fast becoming a celebrity. Christina instantly befriends Lyssa, eager to learn all her tricks. Parker's jealous of Lyssa, and it's affecting his riding. Will Parker let Lyssa ruin his shot at the Olympics?

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

192 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1999

About the author

See Jo Ann Simon

Reviews

[Arie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Came across my 2003 school reading log, so figured I should enter these books in too. In the words of my ten-year-old self, this book was: "Excellent!"

Actually, thinking back I'm pretty sure I've read every single one of the Thoroughbred series...

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not sure how I feel about the focus being shifted to a different character randomly for only one book, but it was nice to learn a little more about Parker.

[Pink Portrait · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book. Well written and pretty accurate. I ended up giving my Thoroughbred the show name Foxglove because of this book. It holds a special place in my heart and ignited my imagination.

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was written by Karle Dickerson, who would wind up writing six other Thoroughbred books, including two other books featuring Parker Townsend, Parker's Passion and Great Expectations. What an original title for the last one, huh?

Another reason to hate Karle Dickerson is that she introduced Lyssa, the teenaged horse whisperer. It's really difficult for me to pick who the most annoying recurring character is in Thoroughbred, but Lyssa's near the top of the list.

It's really not known how much of a Thoroughbred book post Campbell/Simon was commissioned by HarperCollins, and how much originated with the ghostwriter. Somewhere, there's a potential Netflix series in all the shenanigans behind a popular teen girl book series.

Ultimately, the Parker and Lyssa books would be a complete waste of trees, since their stories are never completed when the series ended. Even if they had continued, they were boring as hell, and mostly unrealistic, so I wasn't too upset to discover how their stupid Olympic dreams didn't turn out.

Taking Christina away from eventing was a huge mistake that began the slow, horrifying train crash that was the rest of the series. If Christina had been left with Sterling, and Melanie with her dreams of being a top jockey, I honestly think the series would've lasted longer. It at least would've been more interesting to read, and would've stayed truer to the overall continuity started in The Horse of Her Dreams.

The series could've taken both Christina and Parker to the Olympics, or one or both could've come to the life-altering decision that their real passion lay in rescuing off the track Thoroughbreds and retraining them. Brad could've been killed by one of the horses he was abusing (poetic justice there) and Parker, inheriting Townsend Acres, could've turned it into a horse rescue. There would've been great drama as Christina clashed with the rest of her family over the cruelty in horse racing.

But I guess that made too much sense.

So, we got this crap instead.

I assume that's supposed to be Foxglove on the cover. As usual, the cover artist got it wrong. Foxglove was supposed to be a much brighter bay.

[Jo Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't a particularly strong volume, but I always enjoy Parker's books. It was nice to see some character development on Parker's end. He was annoyed for the majority of this book but it made sense because his parents are nuts.