Gee Whiz: Book Five of the Horses of Oak Valley Ranch - Hardcover

JANE SMILEY is the author of many books for adults, including Private Life, Horse Heaven, and the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Thousand Acres. She was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2001.
            Jane lives in Northern California, where she rides horses every chance she gets. She is also the author of four other novels for young readers in the Horses of Oak Valley Ranch series: The Georges and the Jewels, A Good Horse, True Blue, and Pie in the Sky.

Gr 5-8-In 1966, Abby lives on a ranch in California where her family trains and sells horses. In this fifth story about her, she interacts with the yearling Jack, destined for the track; Beebop, a rodeo bucking horse; and Gee Whiz, a big ex-racehorse that may have jumping talent and is very clever at opening closed gates. The teen's life revolves around her church, some activities with friends, and taking care of the horses. Various characters drift in and out of the narrative. An elderly man at her church, Brother Abner, shares stories with her about the world, which help her to start thinking about more than her present life. The dilemma of the Vietnam draft is briefly touched upon concerning her older brother, Danny. Abby is a smart and appealing protagonist, but the novel moves slowly; it is like reading a person's daily blog rather than an exciting or unexpected story. Even her relationship with Gee Whiz never seems fully realized.-Carol Schene, formerly at Taunton Public Schools, MAα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journal. LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.