New Beginnings

Heartland #18

by Lauren Brooke

When Amy returns to a long-cherished place and reconnects with an old friend, she discovers that her grace and ease with horses does not always carry over into her relationships with people.

After Amy hears of the death of her mentor, she is surprised when his granddaughter, Carey, mysteriously invites her to visit. Amy is eager to return to the serene stables, and Ty agrees to go with her. Once they arrive, Amy seeks out Carey and assumes she wants help with her mustang, Maverick. Yet Carey is nowhere to be found, and she seems to be avoiding both her pony and Amy. So Amy immerses herself in barn work. But it isn't the horses who need her help. When she finally takes time to understand her friend's issues, she is forced to see her own future in a whole new way.

Genres: Horses, Young Adult, Fiction, Animals, Childrens, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Lauren Brooke grew up in a ranch in Virginia and now lives in Leicestershire, England. Her husband is a veterinarian who specializes in horses. Her books have been published by Scholastic since Mid-2000, starting with the first book of the Heartland book series. The first book of her popular Chestnut Hill series was published in 2005.

According to an interview on scholastics' website, Lauren Brooke has been riding since before she could walk. She also said she competes in a few local-level horse shows and events.

There may be some other people in books and movies named Lauren Brooke:
Amazon lists the author of "Book of spiritual regeneration" (1995) as Lauren Brooke.
IMDB.com has a record for an Actress named Lauren Brooke. Her only movie is "Wiseguys vs. Zombies" (2003) as Goat Man's Wife.

Reviews

[Amanda Schell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore the heartland series!!! All of them! And in case you were wondering the TV series is pretty good too <3

[kat♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really did enjoy this one. returning to this series after a few days without reading felt like catching up with an old friend, which was kinda fitting for the story… I think everyone goes through moments where they long for something new but dread change but this book served as a gentle reminder both things are possible and a good thing

[Rusty's Ghost Engine (also known as.......... Jinky Spring) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still as touching and heart warming!
I can't believe I abandoned this series for two, yes two long years! I'm very close to finishing the series all together but I don't look forward to finishing cause these books feel like one big journey..

[Clemence D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alors que tout semble aller pour le mieux à Heartland c'est pour Laura qu'une nouvelle inopinée pourrait tout changer !
Une nuit, Laura fait pourtant un drôle de rêve où lui apparaît Huten, le vieil Indien cherokée qui a tout appris à sa mère. Quand elle appelle la réserve, c'est trop tard. Huten est mort quelques jours plus tôt.

Bouleversée, Laura ne sait que faire : doit-elle se rendre là-bas ? Mais qu'adviendra-t-il des chevaux en son absence ? C'est alors que le vieil Indien lui revient une seconde fois en rêve...

Un tome un peu plus dans l'introspection et mois dans les affaires du ranch !

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

As much as I love reading about Heartland, it's always nice to get to this book and go back Ten Beeches and Carey's family. I loved the relationships Amy forges in Every New Day (also one of my favourite books of this series), and I like going back to this.
I always come away from books 9 & 18 feeling a bit inspired- there's some general good advice in here. For instance, in this one, Carey tells Amy 'Just because you love a place or a person doesn't mean you can't leave them.', which in context of the book is about moving on with life.
Only two more books to go, which I'll spread out through June.

[David Burnworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

New Beginnings is one of those stories that is so touching in so many ways. Amy and Ty drive to Ten Beeches to reconnect with an old friend, Carey. At first, things are tough because of Carey being so difficult to Amy and to Ty. After some time everything seems to come together in a large part because of Ty being so understanding and helping with a mistreated horse and Carey putting to use to some old lesson she learned from a wise guy. I won't give anything away to spoil this one but will say, Amy, Ty, and Carey will bring tears to your eyes with this adventure.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amy is invited to visit with Carey, an old friend, on her family farm. Amy assumed that Carey just wanted help with a horse and to mull over old times. Amy seems to have a great bond with horses, and is able to understand them very well. She seems to struggle very much with being socially adept when it comes to people, and this book really highlights her need for growth in that area. It was nice to meet some new characters in this book though.

[Tibbara's Den · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved how this one takes Amy back to revisit old friends. I really enjoyed how Ty went with her, and Amy was able to process her own connection with Spindle while helping her friend with Maverick. The setting of this one has a peaceful element, and it was refreshing after the heavier plots of some of the others.

[Alex Apostol · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good one. It dealt way more with people issues than horse issues, which is keeping true to the Heartland motto. I love that these books are always full of people finding their true selves and figuring what they need to do with their lives.

[Meg R White · Rating 4 out of 5]

What kind of name is Spindleberry?! 😂

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favoirite books in the Heartland series

[Katie Hildreth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have enjoyed all these books. They are similar to the tv series, but different as well. I can't wait to read more.

[Olivia H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love it! Very pleasantly surprised how none of the books so far are exactly the same, and are rarely boring. I love the ending of this book! Definitely recommend!

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this with Amy revisiting the horse retreat but taking Ty along with her. It was quite emotional and a good read

[Louise · Rating 4 out of 5]

*4,25⭐️

[Isabella Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good read by Lauren Brooke! I only have two more books in the series now, I am going to miss reading about Amy and everyone at Heartland when I finish. In this story we meet again the family who helped Mercury from book nine (Every New Day) as Amy goes to visit them up in the mountains. 🏔

Amy is thinking a lot about Huton, the Native American who helped her cure one of the horses that came to Heartland to be trained, after hearing about his passing. After a call from his Granddaughter, Carey, about a horse they own, Amy heads back to the farm up in the mountains with Ty to see what she can do to help there. On arriving Carey seems distance and quiet, avoiding any chances to be with Amy. As Amy struggles to understand why Carey asked her here, she turns to Mavarick, a half-mustang who is nervous and anxious around people. But as Amy starts to work with him, she wonders if this was really why Carey asked her to come in the first place…

*Feel free to check out my overview for the Heartland series over on my Substack blog:

https://thepaintedcaravan.substack.co...

Isabella Ann of The Painted Caravan ♡

[AmbWitch · Rating 2 out of 5]

As per usual it’s been a while since I read this book and I can’t remember it all that well. The Heartland series of books were ones that I used to adore and lent them out to a couple of friends. Now that I’ve grown up a little, I still enjoy them, but not quite as much as I used to. That being said, this particular book in the series never really stood out to me.


In New Beginnings Amy returns to the reservation at Ocanumba after discovering that Huten has died. This time she brings Ty along with her but finds that things are very different from her previous visit with the area becoming more modern and the reservation having to make changes in order to make a living.


The last time Amy visited she made friends with Carey, but now the girl seems hostile and wants nothing to do with her. There are also problems with Carey’s horse, Marvick who has become hard to handle. When they finally find out what is causing them both to act out all I could think of was ‘well, duh!’ It was obvious what was going on with them and annoyed me at how oblivious everyone was too it. But then again, as a reader I have a different point of view than the characters. But still…
Other than that I thought the book was fairly mediocre, not standing up against some of the other books in the series. It was interesting that what Amy was going to do with her future was brought up but only briefly, going to be focused on in a later book.


As I mentioned earlier, I lent this book to a couple of friends, so evidently I have recommended it to people, and still would do to young teenage girls who like their horses. I never know whether I should rate these books how I find them now, or how I found them when I first read them.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amy discovers that her friend Huten has passed away when she calls them many months after her visit. Carey, Huten's granddaughter, tells Amy she should come to visit and that she needed her help. When Amy tells Ty her plan to go away for a few days, Ty assumes he is coming along. While Huten's family tells her it's fine, Amy senses that Carey is not happy about it. In fact, Carey tells Amy that she is planning on leaving the farm. But what about Carey's horse Maverick?

In this volume I found myself being reminded about how young Amy is. It is strange that Amy is still in high school, and Ty is not long out of school, and the other stablehand Joni is only 17 and recently graduated. Ty and Amy have been together for so long that I think of them as a married couple, but when they arrive at the farm Amy and Ty are put in separate rooms. After helping Carey with her decision, Amy is now thinking about what will happen to Heartland when she leaves for college. I definitely think this will need to be addressed, and I am a bit surprised that it hasn't been addressed more - a business being operated by teenagers? It's hard to imagine that many horse owners placing their trust in such a business.

[Sully · Rating 3 out of 5]

This cover bugged me the entire time I was reading the book. Who is the guy on the cover? I assume Ty, but he looks wayyyy too young and isn't the same guy as they used for the cover of Taking Chances.

I always like the books that take place at Heartland better, but Amy's return to Ten Beeches isn't bad. We deal with another loss in this book, and Amy is more of a shoulder to lean on, but she of course cannot help but work mostly with the horses at Ten Beeches, the people coming in second.

[Mallory Beckler · Rating 3 out of 5]

New Beginnings was a really good book! Amy (the main character) sees an old horse that she healed with the help of her mother's old friend. She decides to give him a call,and sadly finds that he passed away about a week before she called.She decides to go down and visit his family, in Ten Beeches, Ocunumba. I don't want to give anything away that happens there, but I can assure you that it is an amazing story!

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

whatever, i have nothing to read right now so i might as well finish the books i never had the chance to read throughout my childhood. used to love these books so i have so many and i never finished them, its summer, i might as well use the time to make room for more newer and better books for my age and time

[livresetsonges · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dans ce tome, on quitte un petit peu Heartland pour repartir dans la réserve de Hunted, que Laura a vu plusieurs fois en rêve. Dans ce tome, les chevaux sont peut être un peu moins présent. On est plus face aux relations humains, aux façons de gérer un deuil, de ce que ça implique dans la vie de ceux qui restent...
C'est comme toujours une très bonne lecture !

[Tracy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love HORSES so I decided to look up books about horses. When I heard about heartland I immediately went to the public library and took out the who heartland series. I was so into the books that I finished the whole series in like 2 weeks!!

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Heartland books done and read. It's a cute series about a girl and her affinity with horses, and this book continues what we've seen in the previous books and I would recommend it to anyone who has gotten this far in the series.

[Cale_Steps]

Good to pass time. Can be interesting/exciting-but def. for horse freaks!

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

See the first book in the series for a full review.

[Suzy Kennedy · Rating 3 out of 5]

read as a child.

A good series about a girl working with horses and dealing with grief.

[aleksandra bigorajska · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5🌟

[Morgan]

"own"