The Horse Dancer by Jo Jo Moyes
Let me start by saying One Plus One by Jo Jo Moyes is one of my favorite books. I loved Me Before You, Paris for One, The Ship of Brides. The woman knows how to tell a good story.
That being said, I wasn't crazy about The Horse Dancer. One, it was so bleak and depressing. The main character is a 14-year-old girl whose mother has died, then her grandmother dies, then the grandfather who is raising her has a stroke, so she ends up in foster care with a squabbling couple who are getting divorced. The only joy she has in life is her beloved horse, Boo. But then a creepy guy takes over the stables where Boo lives and wants "favors" from her since she can't pay the stable rent anymore. (There was a large ick factor there.) What else is going to go wrong for this poor kid? The foster mom also has a depressing life (though not to the same extent). She works with disadvantaged kids. Her boyfriend doesn't want her to meet his kids. Her not-quite-ex moves back into "their" home, so she loses her one oasis. And in the middle of a huge court case, she has to drop everything to deal with the foster child, probably torpedoing her career and her romantic relationship.
The other main problem I have with this book is it is needed some major editing. Unless you're a die-hard horse fan, there was way too much horse-related detail. And finally, there is an inexplicable happy ending that did not logically follow the 400 pages that came before.
If you're new to Jo Jo Moyes, read one of the wonderful books I mentioned at the beginning rather than starting with this one.
That being said, I wasn't crazy about The Horse Dancer. One, it was so bleak and depressing. The main character is a 14-year-old girl whose mother has died, then her grandmother dies, then the grandfather who is raising her has a stroke, so she ends up in foster care with a squabbling couple who are getting divorced. The only joy she has in life is her beloved horse, Boo. But then a creepy guy takes over the stables where Boo lives and wants "favors" from her since she can't pay the stable rent anymore. (There was a large ick factor there.) What else is going to go wrong for this poor kid? The foster mom also has a depressing life (though not to the same extent). She works with disadvantaged kids. Her boyfriend doesn't want her to meet his kids. Her not-quite-ex moves back into "their" home, so she loses her one oasis. And in the middle of a huge court case, she has to drop everything to deal with the foster child, probably torpedoing her career and her romantic relationship.
The other main problem I have with this book is it is needed some major editing. Unless you're a die-hard horse fan, there was way too much horse-related detail. And finally, there is an inexplicable happy ending that did not logically follow the 400 pages that came before.
If you're new to Jo Jo Moyes, read one of the wonderful books I mentioned at the beginning rather than starting with this one.
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