tBased on the reviews I read before starting this second book following Riding Lessons, I was worried I wasn't going to like this. I'm so glad I stayed on course. I loved this book. It probably helps that I have ridden horses, shown horses, and own a horse. I've ridden English and Western and jumped fences. I know exactly what it means when the smell of a barn warms your heart. There is something about a teenage girl and a horse. It's a bond hard to understand.tAnnemarie is not an easy character to like, however, her imperfections make her easier to relate to so you kind of want to route for her. The one character I didn't care for is her daughter, Eva. I thought the author created a monster of a teenage daughter. Part of it is Annemarie lets her get away with treating her bad. The divorce doesn't help either. But the selfishness and misbehavior is over the top, but is probably more real than I know.tSara Gruen wrote "Water for Elephants" which was a fantastic book. It's' hard to top. However, Ms Gruen is a fantastic story teller and these 2 earlier books show her talent. The story flows and kept my attention from beginning to end. All the loose ends were tied up so I felt satisfied at the conclusion. It's been a long time since I've had a book call to me and pull me off my tablet. The last few books I've read have done that. I wish there were more books out there by Gruen. I would definitely read them.
This was a terrible, terrible book. I picked it after it was recommended to me as a good horsey novel, and the only thing that kept me reading all the way through was sick curiosity. I wanted to see if the ending would be as trite as I predicted. It was.The main character is self-absorbed, unlikeable, and her flaws are not entertaining enough to make her unlikeable yet interesting (as I'm someone who enjoys unlikeable yet interesting characters). For example: she throws a hissy fit when her extremely tolerant boyfriends buys her a pair of diamond earrings instead of an engagement ring. Will he forgive her little tantrum? What do you think?The plot focuses on the main character's daughter and her eventing career. In the tradition of all pat, predictable, and unrealistic horsey novels, the daughter tames the untameable mount who will only allow one special person to ride him. Will they be successful in competition? Will they amaze everyone who doubted them? Again, what do you think?To summarize, this book contains tiresome characters, a hackneyed plot, and a random baby. If you never outgrew those goofy horse books aimed at ten-year-olds, you might enjoy this one. Then again, since there's no sense that the author is trying for goofy rather than deeply affecting and emotional, maybe not. Your money would be better spent buying more interesting things, like a loaf of bread or a box of paperclips.
What do You think about Flying Changes (2007)?
There's a reason this novel has a permanent spot on my book tower. Well, actually there are several. For one -- and this one is obvious -- I love horses. Like just about every girl on the planet, I fell in love with them when I was little and amassed a huge collection of plastic model horses (we all know which ones but I don't want to infringe on the trademark by naming them). Bad allergies kept me from riding until I was a teenager, but once I started, there was no stopping me. Yes, I rode a lot and was even the captain of an intercollegiate equestrian team during my senior year in college. It was only semi-competitive and I wasn't that good, but I can still relate to the characters in this story. But I can also relate to the dynamics that make this so much more than a book about horses. It is a book about family, love, conquering fear, learning to let go of the things you cannot control, living every day to the fullest, taking risks, accepting failure, coping with tremendous loss and finding your place in the world. If you love horses, you'll love this book -- and even if you don't like horses, you just might love this story.
—Alexandra Bogdanovic
I would give this book 4 1/2 stars if I could because I really enjoyed the story, but it doesn't go on my list of all time favorites and I didn't enjoy it as much as Water for Elephants so I didn't give it a 5. I did, however, think it was a better story than Riding Lessons. (I am surprised that it does not mention on the cover of Flying Changes that the story is a continuation from Riding Lessons. Although you could easily read it and enjoy it without having read Riding Lessons.) Anyway, good book, cute story. The only thing I didn't like about the book is that I thought the teenage girl's bad attitude towards her mother got old after awhile and I started noticing that the main character was always "about to cry". I really like the author's writing style. I wonder if she'll write another book any time soon...
—Sandy
sequel to Riding Lessons, this is more the story of eva than annemarie, except not. eva gets a more central role, but annemarie is still the driving force - behind everything. again, gruen writes about the special bond between a horse and a person, and she does it so well it makes my heart ache. this completes the story she was telling earlier, and i think it's stronger than her first go. (not just because the image of a blue roan doing one-tempi changes makes me swoon.) this is more of a romance than the first book, but it's surprising in its turns. the mother-daughter relationship mellowed a bit between annemarie and mutti, and annemarie and eva - in a way, it reminded me of the gilmores. (hah!) but it's just really well written. i didn't want to put it down.
—stephanie
