A Horse to Love

Keystone Stables #1

by Marsha Hubler

Skye is a troubled foster girl, sent to live with Christian foster parents who introduce her to the wonderful world of horses. At Keystone Stables, a special-needs dude ranch in central Pennsylvania, Skye meets Champ, a champion sorrel quarter horse who helps her accept God's unconditional forgiveness and love.

Genres: Horses, Christian, Fiction, Young Adult, Contemporary, Christian Fiction, Animals

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Marsha Hubler, author of the best-selling 8-book Keystone Stables Series from Zonderkidz, lives in central PA with her husband and two dogs. She has a master’s degree in education, over 40 years experience with children of all ages, and presently works with homeschoolers in her home office.
Her latest published books, THE TOMMI POCKETS SERIES, addresses tween issues such as divorced parents, friendships, and rejection by peers.
Visit Marsha at her website, http://www.marshahublerauthor.com
For horse lovers of all ages, she has another blog: http://www.horsefactsbymarshahubler.w...
For writers' tips, go to:
www.marshahubler.wordpress.com

Reviews

[Allie ReadsMore · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reading this as an adult vs a child...whew. I'm going to start positive: the writing is good. I've seen much worse writing than what this book has to offer. It's the emotional abuse and indoctrination that takes the cake for me- I remember loving this series and thinking it was so good how they share the gospel with Skye and all of her issues...in reality Skye is the only sane person who recognizes their behavior as strange. In true "shove down your throat" method that's the trademark of the evangelical Christian way, we see the foster family and Maranatha exploit Skye's very real issues and use it to point her to Jesus. Some parts made my jaw drop for the sheer abuse that took place, and some parts I had to skip entirely and try not to roll my eyes. It's a very interesting case study on the type of content deemed appropriate for children by the Christian religion standards, and the context in which the issues presented are addressed I truly think is damaging and wholly inappropriate. I think any person with counseling and/or therapy experience based on science would likely agree. I did get some insight though: it's clear why I struggle with self worth now if this was the stuff I was reading when my brain developed. 2/5 stars.

[E.F. Buckles · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a series I read when I was in my very early teens and still horse-crazy. It was not a bad series by any means, and I apparently liked them enough to read the whole series, and appreciated the Christian messagess, and how much horse therapy can help people deal with many a variety of problems. That said, this was by no means my favorite horse-related series either. When I first added this series here on Goodreads, I gave them all 4 stars, but in the midst of my shelf organizing, when I saw them again and started really thinking about what I remembered about them, I think 3 stars would be a more accurate rating for how I felt. Like I said, it wasn't a bad series and there wasn't any content that bothered me. (My mom was the one who gave it to me and she never gave me at that age anything without making sure it was appropriate first. Love my caring mommy. <3) I think the reason it wasn't my favorite was that Sky, while she was still being an angsty, messed up teen, annoyed me because of her bad attitudes. Then, later on, when Sky no longer annoyed me because she let go of her angst, I was still a little annoyed because I honestly felt like the author didn't write teenage dialog very well. Now, when I say that, please don't think I'm saying, "It wasn't realistic because they didn't swear!" Nooooo, that's not what I'm saying at all. I'm not talking about swearing or the lack thereof, and there are plenty of teens in the world who make the choice not to use profanity. What I *am* saying is that the teen dialog the way this author wrote it always came off a little...cheesy to me, if that's the right word? Like, it got on the "Gee golly!" side sometimes. (I truly think I remember a kid saying "golly" a time or two in this series.) I don't have a problem with the term "golly" if someone wants to use it, but it just felt a lot more like the kids in this series talked a lot more the way teenagers probably talked when the author was young, and not so much how teens talked in the early 2000's when this series first came out. And, in 2004 when this book came out I was...*squints to do math*...about 12 years old, I think? Only one year younger than Skye. So, the fact that I, at that time a very sheltered 12 year old, thought the teenage dialog got cheesy was probably not a good thing. :p That's all a very long way to explain why I'm lowering my ratings for this series from 4 to 3. It wasn't a bad series, and again, I read all the books so I obviously didn't hate it. It just wasn't my favorite ever, and I feel like 3 stars more accurately represents how I felt about it, and on my personal scale, 3 stars = "Didn't love it, didn't hate it."


Content: Making note that it's been yeeeeeaaaars since I read this, I think I remember some mentions of past drug use pop up from time to time. As the synopsis for the book says, Skye was a pretty troubled kid at the beginning of the series and got kicked out of several foster homes because of her behavior. I was/am the daughter of a child-protective social worker and nothing Skye did/had done in the past came as a shock to me, but I could see how this type of content might not be appropriate for some kids of particularly young age. For that reason, parents should take a look themselves before deciding if this series is appropriate for their child. I personally agree with the rating on the synopsis that says ages 10+

[Leah Good · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book five years ago (at least). As I re-read it, I had to laugh at memories of being slightly scandalized by the mild references to drugs. The author does a great job of showing Skye's defiance, yet tempering it by showing her internal turmoil. She managers to make it clear that Skye's actions are unacceptable, while still making her a likable character. This was a book that stayed with me for a long time when I was younger, and I still enjoyed re-reading now that I'm older.

[Jessie Gussman · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter and her friends (ages 12-14) love these books by Marsha Hubler. I finally read the first one in the series and I was impressed. Good, clean reading with realistic situations and characters, these are books you can hand to your child and not worry that there might be content inappropriate for their age, yet there's enough drama to keep readers interested. Oh, and they really like the horse side of them too. There's a glossary of horse terms and labeled pictures.

[Huey Duck [Knuckles and Sonic] STOP INVITING ME TO VOTE]

I thought this Book was very good! I really enjoyed reading it!!

[Lillian &#x1f496; · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a good book, it doesn’t matter what age you are to read this, I 100% recommend this book if you are Christian and like horses

[Nora West · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like the rating i just gave, it was amazing. You'll laugh, you'll cry, it's the feel good BOOK of the year. Pah, like i know what that means. The publushers are ZONDERKIDZ. A kids version of ZONDERVAN. It relly made me think about the message it sends. At the time, i had made a new friend and i was going to his house almost every day. Every day i got there erly, he would have a bible lesson 4 his homeschooling and i would sit out in the livingroom because i didn't know enough it it seemed boring to me. But i began feeling guilty but i had no idia what they were taling about. So one night, I got out my ZONDERKIDZ bible and startend at the begining. At the time, i liked horses. Every Thursday, we went to the libreary and i would look for horse bookes and then i found this one and i was hooked.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story not only talks about horses, but it also gives a person we can ALL relate to: Skye Nicholson. We all feel neglected at one time or another. Sometimes, we blame other people for our problems only because we have anger that gnaws away at us. Hurting us and those around us. This fictional book shows how Skye deals with it and overcomes it the Chambers and Morgan's help. We all need people like that in our lives, but sometimes we NEED to be that person.

[Lillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a pre-teen/ young teen level, but still enjoyable for old people like me. I downloaded it with my PC nook app. I will recommend it to my granddaughters. And I want to read more of the series.

[Elizabeth Gibbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good and quick read about a young, troubled teen who is given a last chance to improve in a Christian foster home before the judge sends her to an institution. God's love is calling her through the help of this family, but it's up to Skye to hear it.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Troubled teen comes to a horse ranch and learns to fit in and love.

[Emily Chappel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book I great for horse lovers and is a really intriguing story.

[Samantha Hopper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing! It showed Christ in a beautiful way, while also bringing horses into the equation. I found that I simply couldn’t put it down!

[Pasta Bird · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have so many issues with this book.
Firstly, the borderline predatory Christian themes. These people push religion on an unstable, troubled girl. She shows that she is not interested in their religion but they keep pushing it. They talk about god and salvation at the most random times. Skye is having a breakdown? Let’s talk about a god she doesn’t even believe in. Every time I let down my guard and started getting interested in the story again, more god talk was pushed at me. Religion can be put in a story well. Take Mary’s Song, for example, another Christian-based horse book. It is subtly discussing Christianity, faith, and forgiveness, and I genuinely enjoyed it. This one just punches you in the face with it any chance it can get. Ok, maybe it just wants to be a good Christian book for people who are already Christian. However, my last straw was “hard rock” being associated with the devil. At the end of the book, the author wrote that readers who haven’t already should repent and ask forgiveness for their sins to get salvation.
Secondly, the mixed up or straight up wrong information. In other books I can tolerate this, but this book was marketed as a fiction book that has good information about real horses and riding. So when something doesn’t line up, or when something gets said that utterly untrue, I almost see it as dangerous. Tying horses by the reins to the bridle is not ok, and even if that was a misunderstanding, kids are going to read it that way and think it’s ok. I could also tell it was written by a western rider, as the English riding information in it was at worst completely wrong. What really surprised me though was the jumbling of western disciplines. For example, Skye’s western pleasure class that included dismounting and mounting, as well as a sliding stop? I was enjoying the scene but some of the stuff she was asked to do totally brought me out of it. And then there’s the breed pages. Oh my, the breed pages. These were presented as something to help you figure out what breed you may want for your first horse. Which would be based off of temperament and size, right? Wrong. Pintos and Palominos are advertised as actual breeds. Even though they are called color breeds the author acted like they breed true and have specific personalities or athletic skills. I was resting my head in my hands for 5 minutes after reading this section because I simply could not.
TLDR: SMH, ranges from tolerable to purely agonizing.

[natalie]

wait i was at CHAP (homeschool convention) & there was a booth with these books & for some reason they looked good so i bought two of them (why i thought they looked good i could not tell you bc i was in no way a horse girl)
anyways they were good but they kind of accomplished the opposite purpose than they were supposed to for me i think. bc i was still so sheltered & was yearning to be something else, i saw this young rebel girl who was rude & loud & violent as someone to emulate & yeah i just thought she got a lot less cool once she bonded with the horse & also god & all that

[Lilly Pittman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I remember loving this series when I was a tween. I probably read every book in this series seven times. Re-reading it now, it is still good. The theology is solidly evangelical, which is a little annoying now, but not the worst. The dialogue could use some work, and the counseling methods are really more joke than realistic. But still, a heartwarming story overall.

[Barbara Brockhaus · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is nothing better for the inside of a person than the outside of a horse. I can't remember who said it first but it is the perfect quote for this book. Skye has had a very hard life and doesn't trust anyone or anything until she meets her new foster family and there horses.

[Katie MacCartee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this with/to my daughter, so you know what? I’m counting it. I was invested too 😆😆 14 chapters lol she read some without me & I had to ask her what happened bc I was curious 🤨 Super cheesy Christian fic from the 2000s but had a great message and horses (and mp3 players), so we enjoyed it.

[Charlotte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

[Carrie Billig · Rating 5 out of 5]

5

[Noelani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Almost 4 stars given by 9-year old.

[Charlie Dineen]

Revisiting horse books I read as a child…now as a former religion major the evangelism factor here is off the charts. Wild.

[Laelle Stroud · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book a couple years ago and loved it!

[Bernadette · Rating 2 out of 5]

kind of a griping read, but the author shoved Christianity down your throat. I am a Christian, but that it a bit annoying.

[Star Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

I adore horses. I adore reading. So reading about horses seemed a natural fit. When I was a kid, I loved the Thoroughbred horse series over your standard Babysitter's Club or Sweet Valley High. Amongst my pile of freebies needing attention was A Horse to Love.

There were plenty of great horse references to how the whole business of riding and caring for a horse work. If you really want to know about tacking and anatomy then this book is the way to go; however, there wasn't enough time with the actual horse. It sort of felt more like a beginner's instruction manual than an actual novel. When I read about horses, I want to read about their personalities (because they are very unique) and the bonds they create with the staff and riders (which is also unique for each individual they meet). Maybe I have been spoiled with the Thoroughbred series.

The heavy Christian overtones were a bit much for me, also. The novel truly is heartfelt and inspiring. There is a good message to be shared in the brief introductory novel. While I won't be reading further into the series, I'll recommend it to a Christian audience.

The story is about a young girl who has been bounced from foster home to foster home before landing at the last-ditch-before-juvie horse ranch. She struggles with not fitting in and an overall bad attitude towards life. Pretty typical of your disturbed youth saved by God genre, and slightly overdone.

The ranch family and their horse Champ work miracles on her to become a proper young lady. Personally, I felt the story was a little compressed and moved too quickly. We didn't get to really see the development of Skye and her haphazard decision skills making progress in terms of actual growth. Plus, as I mentioned earlier, the Christian premise of instantly being saved didn't really work for me on a literary level. I would have liked to see the author build more on the characters and motivations to fill out the story. And yes, I do realize this book is geared for a younger audience--but their attention spans aren't that short you need to cut it so light. I sort of felt jipped out of storyline and plot development.

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book. A troubled girl is given a choice by a judge: either go into a juvenile facility, or go to a foster home. Skye Nicholson decides to go to another foster family. This is her last chance. Skye finds out that this foster family is different that any of the others that she has been in. This is the first book in the series "Keystone Stables".

[Jan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I realized this was for younger readers so read it with an open mind. I think a younger reader would like reading this being it is horse related but for an adult who already owns a horse it was okay but its definatly written for a young reader.

[Smtice02]

i have not read it yet but i will soon i have to go to the library when i go i will get this book soon. i know thois will be a great book to read.



from, http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Teen story, but a good, quick read if you like horses.

[Brianna Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the whole series! The author is amazing and I'm not saying that because I met her!