Thoroughbred #67: Breaking the Fall (Thoroughbred)

Rating:
Summary: Breaking The Fall
Review: About the book: Christina is in a race when another horse bumps her and causes her to loose her stirrup. She ends up with severe injuries that put her out of commision for at leats 3 months. During that time she needs someone to keep her horse, Star, in shape for upcoming races. She is dissapointed that she wont be riding him but her cousin Melanie will. In the meantime she takes a part-time job at a vet's clinic to see if she likes the idea of becoming a vet. You'll have to read the rest to find out if she does and what will happen to her and Star's future!


My Opinion: The book was okay. One thing really bothered me though...On the back of the book it says that "...Christina reluctantly agrees to let Melanie train Star -- a situation that will begin to tear the cousins apart. Will they be able to mend their differences for Star's sake?..." However none of that happened throughout the book. It didn't tear them apart, they never fought or anything, and it seemed to me they got along great. Christina was dissapointed that she cant ride star but who wouldnt be? She never got mad at Melaine. Another thing that bothers me is those Famous horse things...ENOUGH ALREADY!!!! It was okay the first time but the authours are really overdoing it. These books are supposed to be fiction, not refer to famous REAL horses! Not only that but this story sounds rather familair....if i recall,in Living Ledgend (#39) Christina doesnt want to race star because she feels she is too inexpirenced so Melaine rides him. Hmmm do I sense the authors are running short of ideas? Anyway there IS a plus in this story; you meet a new character whose name is allison or Allie for short. Remember way back when in the beginning when we met Jilly Gordon and her boyfriend Craig Avery? then they got married? Well aparently they had a daughter too...Allie! In this story you find out that both craig and jilly died and their daughter was in foster care. Snotty Cindy McLean was in foster care too and decides that she and Ben will adopt Allie. I think Allie will be a wonderfull addtion to the Thoroughbred series. Book #70 Allie's Legacy has more about her! CANT WAIT!

Rating:
Summary: Thoroughbred #67
Review: First of all, the back of the book doesnt' relate to the book at all, but I'm happy about that. It made it seem like we were going to have another book about the all-mighty Christina where the whole world revolves around her... But that wasn't the case, Christina was barable! She did and thought soem stupid things and others put her in her place and she actually listened.
The real-horse relations have to go. Before these books were timeless, they could have taken place at any time, today or 10 years ago... but now that they are bringing real horses into the stories the books aren't so timeless anymore, they had to have taken place during specific time periods.
Second, the covers have got to improve!
Christina is hurt and doesnt' even have a cast on. And WHAT does star have on his head? A HALTER WITH REIGNS?? I can't really see a bit there, looks like some sort of ring by his mouth but its not a bit. and it is DEFINITLY a halter, it doesnt' even come close to looking like a bridle... you'd figure that the artist would know the basic horse tack before they tried to draw it. Whos going to read this book- horse people, you think that they are not going to notice? Give me a break...

But overall the book was ok. Better than I thought that it was going to be. It woudl have been stupid had Chris and Mel fought and had chris' bright idea that she "had to get on star's back" to be able to "get into his head" worked, then it would have been completely unrealistic.

Oh and enough Chris and Mel books, they have dominated the last 44ish books of the series. Ashleigh / Samantha / Cindy never had more than 11 books to themselves MAX (Ash and Sam only had 6).
IT IS TIME TO MOVE ON

Rating:
Summary: yay!
Review: i really loved this book. christina's character improved so tremendously. i'm glad she's looking into other equine careers (she's always kind of been an independent spirit, hasn't she?), and i really like allie's character and the reemergence of her forgotten parents, even though they are dead now. i also liked the lack of errors that have plagued past books.

i'm glad to see that this series is improving, and i'm greatly saddened that it will be ending as it comes into a new era of good reading.

Rating:
Summary: The TB quality is coming back. SAVE TB!
Review: Much, much better! Christina is definitely maturing. She handles the fact that she can't ride, and someone else is going to have to race Star for her. She has lost a lot of her bratty self and the books are getting better. I also agree with Claire about the fact that Chris wants to become a vet. There are other rewarding horse careers that can still involve racing. Not everyone can become a jockey.

I'm very sad at the fact that Harper is going to stop publishing this great series. Please reconsider. There are many loyal fans not only in the US, but also in Australia, Africa, and Europe! PLEASE SAVE THOROUGHBRED!!

Rating:
Summary: A good read!
Review: This book definitely represents one of the best in the "New Generation." To echo the sentiments of a previous reviewer, I found Chris's consideration of other careers in the horse world refreshing -- and intriguing. It seems the series in definitely on the upswing; I would definitely keep purchasing books as they keep coming out!

I've been a Thoroughbred reader for 10 years, ever since I bought Pride's Challenge (#9) at an elementary school book fair. Needless to say, I was incredibly disappointed to hear that the publisher has decided to end the series. Generations of horse lovers (and me!) are going to be missing out.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Book
Review: This book honestly reminded me of Ashleigh's Dream. With the introduction of Allie, Chris & Co. have become much more mature, making the plot of this book very readable. The characters are clearly growing. I also enjoyed Allie, despite her rather erroneous background. She's a new face and her character is neither snobby nor too perfect.

Since I like where the series is headed with the new introduction of Allie and the promise of Samantha's unborn twins, I have to express how disappointed I am that HarperCollins has decided to haphazardly end the series at #72. If the series must end it should be a planned and outlined end, not a cut and pasted paragraph at the end of #72. Thoroughbred Series readers have always remained loyal to these books, regardless of how many bumps they have endured along the road. Keep Thoroughbred alive!