Dante: Horses of the Maury River Stables by Gigi Amateau
Handsome but headstrong, a retired racehorse finds a second chance in this affecting, fast-paced novel told straight from the horse's mouth. When Dante's Inferno is born early, on a February night, there are already great expectations for him. He may be the grandson of the greatest racehorse in modern times, but Dante's start proves a rough one, both in life and on the track. When Dante fails as a racehorse, he ends up at a Thoroughbred rescue facility run by rehabilitating prisoners before being adopted as a project horse at the Maury River Stables. It's not easy for Dante to make friends-horse or human-but slowly horses Daisy and Napoleon let him into the fold, and a student named Ashley begins to work with him to learn dressage and jumping in hopes that he'll find redemption as an eventing horse. Can Dante put his fears aside and succeed on the cross-country course? Narrated from Dante's point of view, this is a story that animal lovers will cherish. Editorial Reviews Compelling and skillfully written. -Kirkus Reviews - From the Publisher 12/01/2014 Gr 4-7--Dante's Inferno comes from a long line of strong and fast thoroughbreds. Expectations are high that he will prove to be just as adept on the racetrack. But while Dante has speed, he has difficulty trusting humans and other horses and quickly earns a reputation for being troublesome. Despite the best efforts of his mother and the few humans he has bonded with, Dante seems destined to be a disappointment. He continues to be shipped around to new places and eventually ends up at Maury River Stables, a horse-riding school where he forms a fragile bond with human Ashley. Will the bond ever be strong enough for Dante to see success? The plot is long on horse-show terminology but short on action. Readers may have trouble getting into the story due to its slow pacing. Give this to horse enthusiasts only.--Beth Cuddy, Seward Elementary School, Auburn, NY - School Library Journal 2015-02-03 A thoroughbred racehorse tells his story in this middle-grade novel. Dante's Inferno has it all--a superior pedigree, striking looks and a comfortable life in an upscale racing barn. What he doesn't have is the right attitude. He nearly dies at birth but is resuscitated with painful shots of adrenaline, leaving him with a deep distrust of pain-inflicting humans. While technically dead, Dante has an out-of-body experience, meeting his deceased grandfather, a legendary Triple Crown winner named Dante's Paradiso, who tells him he needs to "conquer three great tests" but does not name them. Amateau writes a believable horse'-point-of-view narration, giving Dante a confident, even privileged voice as he relates, first, his failed racing career--despite numerous advantages and even more numerous expectations--and then his second career as a dressage/hunter/cross-country competitor in the Maury River Stables. Gradually--oh, so gradually--Dante learns humility, trust and love. The story has a clear arc and seems to end on a powerful note, but then...there are two more chapters. One describes Dante's meeting with a decrepit Appaloosa (the eponymous Chancey from the first in the series), and in the other, Dante provides a brief history of the thoroughbred breed and its future. Both struggle to fit into the story. Overall, compelling and skillfully written, but in this case, less would have been more. (Fiction. 8-13) - Kirkus Reviews
Publication Details
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Binding: Hardcover
Published by: Candlewick Press: , 2016
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ISBN: 9780763670047 | 0763670049
320 pages.
Book Condition: Good
ex-library
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