I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade

Rating:
Summary: Captivating adventure story for any young horse lover!
Review: Oyuna, a young girl living on the steppes of late 13th-century Mongolia, was "claimed" by the horse as a baby, when a mare stepped on her foot, crushing it and leaving her permanently crippled. Her family and clan members believe her crippled foot is bad luck, and Oyuna comes to believe it, too. But despite her family's efforts to keep her confined to the ger, or tent, Oyuna is determined to spend as much time as possible with her family's horses. Riding provides her with a freedom she cannot experience on the ground. On horseback, her lame foot does not matter. She dreams of having a swift horse of her own, and winning the famed long race at the festival in Karakorum. At last her father gives in, offering to buy her a horse of her choice. But instead of the swift horse of her dreams, Oyuna surprises both herself and her family by choosing an old, lame white mare.

Over the winter, Oyuna spends all her spare time with the mare, whom she names Bayan, meaning "rich with beauty and goodness." Gradually Bayan's leg heals until she is once again sound enough to ride. Oyuna's shamaness grandmother recognizes something special in the white mare, and warns Oyuna that she must never lose her. But when men from the army of Kublai Khan arrive to take horses and young boys into their service, Oyuna is heartbroken when they select Bayan as one of the horses they will take. In order to stay with her beloved mare, she disguises herself as a boy and sets off with the army, thus beginning a journey full of both danger and adventure. Can she manage to overcome the bad luck that seems to follow her crippled leg, and make her own luck instead?

This book is an excellent choice for any lover of horses and historical fiction. The language is simple enough that it could be read by anyone as young as 10, but the story is so well-crafted and captivating that it can be appreciated by readers of all ages. I received this book as a gift while in junior high and loved it. Now I am in college and have recently re-read it, finding it just as entertaining as ever. Diane Lee Wilson's prose is simple and clear, but possesses great depth and richness of detail. The story abounds with tradition and symbolism. Wilson intersperses the text with traditional Mongolian words for things like tents, animals, food items, and other objects, but their meaning is easily gleaned from the context, and any lingering confusion is solved with a glance at the glossary in the back. "I Rode a Horse of Milk White Jade" is a great tale, full of inspiring messages for young readers. This is one book that simply shouldn't be missed.

Rating:
Summary: A starred review in Publishers Weekly
Review: Starred review, Publishers Weekly "No ordinary horse story, Wilson races out of the gates with her debut account of Oyuna, an equestrain girl, living in 14th century Mongolia; the author links the epic and the ordinary, and transforms a curse into a blessing....Horse lovers or not, readers will be riveted.

Rating:
Summary: Riding a Horse of Milk white Jade
Review: The book I Rode a horse of Milk White Jade is about a girl named Oyuna. At the beginning of the book Oyuna dresses up as a boy and starts her adventure by going and being a part of the Khan's army. After that she has a lot of fun adventures. I gave this book 3 stars because I didn't like it very much. But I would recommend it to a reader who likes books with a lot of adventure and history.

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Summary: I could never put it down.......
Review: The book never stopped with excitment. Oyana went through a lot just so she could prove to her family she wasn't bad luck. But really she had good luck all along. Yes, what happened to her mother was terrible, but it wasn't her fault. If it wasn't for her horse and her grandmother, she would have never got to where she ended up at. So I recommend you read this book and get a thrill out of it.

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Summary: This was a confusing book.
Review: This book has a lot of discription and i liked that. It was very confusing and hard to follw. And characters entered without much warning. I also had to read parts over because they were so confusing. And it went from her telling the story two her grandchild and her in the story.

Rating:
Summary: A Thriller!!
Review: This book has brought great joy to me because I being a horseback rider can closely relate to how the character felt about the race. I have also lost my mother so I share her sorrow and greif and enormous guilt as you always feel something is your fault. I loved this book and I encourage all readers, young and old, to read this book! It is great fun!

Rating:
Summary: A Thriller!!
Review: This book has brought great joy to me because I being a horseback rider can closely relate to how the character felt about the race. I have also lost my mother so I share her sorrow and greif and enormous guilt as you always feel something is your fault. I loved this book and I encourage all readers, young and old, to read this book! It is great fun!

Rating:
Summary: A literary masterpiece!
Review: This book is a simply touching tale of a young girl desined for luck. She must find her good-fortune on horseback, even if it is forbidden in the land of the great Kublai Khan.

Rating:
Summary: Horse, Adventure, Good Book
Review: This book is about a life of a girl who is in search of her own destiny. She is also in search of a horse that can win the big race that will bring good luck to her and her family. Bad luck seems to follow her everywhere, until she learns you can pull your own luck out of the air. Oyuna, her horse and her faithful cat go on many adventures together before they can fulfil there destiny. I liked this book and I recommend it to older kids and adults. It is a very good book!

Rating:
Summary: This Was An Intresting Book
Review: This book was an interesting book. All ages can enjoy this book. The story fits together eventually, though it can be slow moving at times. It could use a little more exitement,and it was sometimes hard to tell what was going on. It did have interesting characters and was mostly about luck. If you want a book that is interesting and worthy of a good review, you'll like this book.