Sarah B's Reviews > Hold the Rein Free

So this was one of those books that captivated me from the very beginning and kept my attention until the very end. And while I have read a lot of horse books over the years, this one certainly stands out for some very unique situations in here. Never have I met kids that were so very clever and wise; smarter than the adults around them. And at times I just had to snicker and laugh at it as it truly was funny! And I very rarely laugh at stuff in books. But make no mistake; this is actually a very serious story.

This is set in California on a ranch. The main characters are kids: Kiko (11) and Amy (12). Kiko is part Mexican and part Native American. His father Frank works on the rich man's ranch but the rich man, Mr Richie, is mean. Amy, a blonde, has just moved to the ranch with her parents and her father is a writer. The two kids, together with the burro Sancho, get into much mischief. But the biggest mischief they do is to take and hide a mare worth a lot of money.

Why? Because otherwise Mr Richie is going to kill the colt when its born. Because poor Mia jumps the fence and has a short love affair with a young stallion from the nearby Indian reservation. And in his eyes that "ruins" the reputation of his ranch. So the kids do what they have to do.

I was very hooked while I read this. It was electrifying and thrilling. I never knew what was going to happen next. And there was various types of danger throughout the whole story. I kept wondering "are they going to get caught?" And that of course leads to the bigger question of how long can this situation carry on for? How do you continue to hide a mare and colt as the months pass? And yes people were out searching for that mare!

There were all sorts of danger in here too, from things in the environment to people searching.

But its a wonderful horse story. I am certainly glad I bought this book as I spent a wonderful day reading this while the temperature outside is freezing (it's only 9 F here).

And the author who wrote this must know horses as she mentions the loose hanging lip of a relaxed horse. So there are many wonderful equine details in here to make it very real... I also enjoyed all the vivid descriptions of nature, the scrubby hills and mountains, etc.

But best of all it surprised me a few times with laughter. The kids do such outrageous things on purpose as they outsmart the adults. Its funny. I would never dare to do anything of the sort when I was a kid.

And Kiko may be just a boy but he knows his horses. He puts the horses before himself. So does Amy. Lovely training scenes too.