What do You think about The Perfect Distance (2007)?
What a treat to find a horse book like this -- I would have loved this when I was 12 or 13 and taking riding lessons. Francie is the daughter of the stable manager at a high-class riding stable, and she works as a groom to be able to ride and train there. The story begins as she heads into her last chance to ride as a junior at Madison Square Garden. Training brings her conflict at school, a very cool love interest, a fairly abusive trainer and the usual "mean girl" who is also an excellent rider. If you grew up reading books like The Monday Horses, Summer Pony, Last Junior Year -- heck, anything with the horse symbol on it at the library, then you will really enjoy this one.
—Kerith
Francie Martinez is one of the lucky students of renowned trainer Rob Renaud. The only difference is, she’s the hired help and works in return for the lessons others pay a packet for. Francie is hard working and determined – her dream is to go professional on the equestrian circuit. This is often overshadowed by another of Rob’s riders, Tara.Although talented, Francie struggles to find the perfect distance whilst jumping, at times moving ahead of her horse before she should be preparing to jump. A lack of confidence in her riding abilities often leads to this fault occurring in a jump round.Whitney’s story of a young woman’s determination to make something of herself in a world that seems to be driven by the rich is realistic, entertaining and avoids common clichés where the underdog rises to the top. The characters are believable and the end result for Francie and her friends is realistic and likeable. Well worth the read.
—Christine Meunier
OH MY GOD!!! One of my favorite book EVER!!! I loved it so much, I think I've read it like five times!!! Some parts made me laugh out loud, others made me cry like no tomorrow. I think the reason I liked it so much was because it was about the road to the USPCA Maclay Finals (the super-bowl for horseback riders under 17 for all you non-horseiful people out there), which is what I want to do sometime in the near future. It wasn't like a little kid book, either. It didn't put me to sleep, and it had me hanging until the end.
—Hannah
