What do you think?
Rate this book
Horses of Oak Valley Ranch #3
Mystery Horse
When Abby Lovitt gets to work at her family's ranch, she can hardly believe her luck. True Blue is a beauty, a dapple grey, and he needs a new home - his owner was tragically killed in a car crash, and no one has claimed him. Her father is wary, as always. But Abby is smitten. True Blue is a sweetheart, and whenever Abby calls out, "Blue, Blue, how are you?" he whinnies back.
But sometimes True Blue seems, well . . . spooked. He paces, and always seems to be looking for something. Or someone. Abby starts to wonder about True Blue's owner. What was she like? What did she look like? And what are the strange whispers Abby sometimes hears when she's with him?
But sometimes True Blue seems, well . . . spooked. He paces, and always seems to be looking for something. Or someone. Abby starts to wonder about True Blue's owner. What was she like? What did she look like? And what are the strange whispers Abby sometimes hears when she's with him?
352 pages, Paperback
First published September 27, 2011
30 people are currently reading
403 people want to read
About the author
Jane Smiley
133 books2,711 followersJane Smiley is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist.
Born in Los Angeles, California, Smiley grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, and graduated from John Burroughs School. She obtained a A.B. at Vassar College, then earned a M.F.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. While working towards her doctorate, she also spent a year studying in Iceland as a Fulbright Scholar. From 1981 to 1996, she taught at Iowa State University. Smiley published her first novel, Barn Blind, in 1980, and won a 1985 O. Henry Award for her short story "Lily", which was published in The Atlantic Monthly. Her best-selling A Thousand Acres, a story based on William Shakespeare's King Lear, received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1992. It was adapted into a film of the same title in 1997. In 1995 she wrote her sole television script produced, for an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street. Her novella The Age of Grief was made into the 2002 film The Secret Lives of Dentists.
Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel (2005), is a non-fiction meditation on the history and the nature of the novel, somewhat in the tradition of E. M. Forster's seminal Aspects of the Novel, that roams from eleventh century Japan's Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji to twenty-first century Americans chick lit.
In 2001, Smiley was elected a member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Born in Los Angeles, California, Smiley grew up in Webster Groves, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis, and graduated from John Burroughs School. She obtained a A.B. at Vassar College, then earned a M.F.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Iowa. While working towards her doctorate, she also spent a year studying in Iceland as a Fulbright Scholar. From 1981 to 1996, she taught at Iowa State University. Smiley published her first novel, Barn Blind, in 1980, and won a 1985 O. Henry Award for her short story "Lily", which was published in The Atlantic Monthly. Her best-selling A Thousand Acres, a story based on William Shakespeare's King Lear, received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1992. It was adapted into a film of the same title in 1997. In 1995 she wrote her sole television script produced, for an episode of Homicide: Life on the Street. Her novella The Age of Grief was made into the 2002 film The Secret Lives of Dentists.
Thirteen Ways of Looking at the Novel (2005), is a non-fiction meditation on the history and the nature of the novel, somewhat in the tradition of E. M. Forster's seminal Aspects of the Novel, that roams from eleventh century Japan's Murasaki Shikibu's The Tale of Genji to twenty-first century Americans chick lit.
In 2001, Smiley was elected a member of The American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
January 5, 2021
True Blue is another coming of age story set in a Jane Smiley horse book for middle schoolers, except it's more than just that. It is a fantastic example of how people only see what they think they see and not what is really there. It is a great illustration of how people color their expectations of others ; how frequently people look but dont understand at all, how everyone is in need of compassion. Thirteen year old Abby lives in California on her parents horse farm in the sixties. Her horse trader father buys decent horses , trains and rehabs them; then sells them as great horses for profit. Hers is a hard working, strict church going , good neighbor kind of family . They are also missing Abby's brother who has left the home and the arguements with their father. Abby is intrigued by a handsome grey gelding named True Blue whose owner had been killed in a auto accident. Rather than seeing True Blue go to auction, Abby wants him for her very own. But something seems strange. Abby wonders about TB dead owner. She wonders if the owners ghost has followed TB to haunt her. Readers who enjoy coming of age stories will like True Blue, especially if they love horses.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 3, 2016
I thought the book was not as good as the first and second books that she written. this had less about the horses that she was working with or about blue. I thought she could of went in more detail of the horse Blue. I thought overall the book was ok.
November 26, 2024
I love Abby and her ranch.
August 23, 2012
This book was kind of boring.... and whats interesting is, Im saying that as a horse lover... meaning I ride and own a horse. And I have to say reading this book was a few wasted hours of my time that I could have spent at the barn.
The he plot was hard to follow in my opinion. I got lost a lot. Also all the time the family met up for their religious meetings or whatever, I had to skip through those parts because they were too long and boring. Like I care about these people's religious meetings? I just want to know about True Blue for gosh sake.
I think the book really focuses on family and religion than on True Blue. I find that annoying. The "ghost" part of the story wasn't much of a Ghost Story at all. A ghost appears like 3 times and that is it. The ending leaves you hanging too. You never find out who the lady is with the long hair riding blue. And you never find out anything more about blue's owner. Sort of a waste of time to me.
As a horse rider, I can say that the book was correct on methods on training horses, etc. But don't refer to this as a book to training your own horse! This is fiction, not non fiction
The he plot was hard to follow in my opinion. I got lost a lot. Also all the time the family met up for their religious meetings or whatever, I had to skip through those parts because they were too long and boring. Like I care about these people's religious meetings? I just want to know about True Blue for gosh sake.
I think the book really focuses on family and religion than on True Blue. I find that annoying. The "ghost" part of the story wasn't much of a Ghost Story at all. A ghost appears like 3 times and that is it. The ending leaves you hanging too. You never find out who the lady is with the long hair riding blue. And you never find out anything more about blue's owner. Sort of a waste of time to me.
As a horse rider, I can say that the book was correct on methods on training horses, etc. But don't refer to this as a book to training your own horse! This is fiction, not non fiction
October 25, 2011
Thought I would give Jane Smiley a try at the tween level since I enjoyed her adult books. Nope. This is a Horse story with a capital 'H' with most of the story around the various equipment, technique and types of horse, uh, stuff there is out there. I would have been able to keep with it if it was more character driven. And then the heavy handed religious overtones did me in. The Dad is a conservative evangelistic Christian (won't let his children go to the movie theater type). And that was when I began skimming for the "ghost story" that was alluded to in the description. Never did find that part either.
Hard core girl horse-lovers will enjoy this story.
Hard core girl horse-lovers will enjoy this story.
March 20, 2012
This was one of the strangest books I've ever read. The main character apparently is a 15 or 16 year old girl when in my opinion she acts like she's five. The plot was hard to follow and really confusing....
March 12, 2014
This book was one of the worst books I have ever read. To this day I still do not know how I was able to finish it. Very lacking in plot and purpose, an extremely boring read. Please, spare yourself, do NOT read this book. For the love of God, you will die slowly on the inside with every word.
August 4, 2013
It was really good.
Read
February 6, 2024I read this book in about 5 days. True blue is an amazing adventurous book. I really enjoyed this book, but in the middle of the book I was disappointed in what happened. I would have given true blue 5 stars, until I knew what it was all about in the ending. I wanted to know more about why they had to leave their farm. And why they also had to leave the horse, and everything behind. This would be a great book for teens and adults. I liked that they had a lot of horses and a healthy farm. I would recommend this book to teens and some of my friends that enjoy this type of genre. I appreciate that they included horses with missing legs, arms, or if they are just disliked by other people.
June 19, 2017
This was a great book and I would read it again but this book was also a bit of a disappointment. I picked this book up mainly because of the blurb and I though it would be all about the horse and it's mysterious past and the ghost. However I found it to be more about Abby's ( Blue's new owner ) life after she bought Blue. I didn't find the ending completely satisfying. It really was a good book and once again I would read it again, I just think I started reading with great expectations for this book and that made the book a bit disappointing to me. But I would still recommend you read it.
December 19, 2021
I think it is a good book; it just wasn’t for me…
The plot seemed to vary between quite a few events that weren’t related to each other which made it very hard to concentrate. I know that the church theme is part of the life of the family but in some cases I found the sections involving church-going to be very distracting from the rest of the story and they didn’t exactly ‘fit’ with the rest
Perfect for younger readers but wasn’t gripping enough for me
Some promising sections but nothing to really write home about 😅
The plot seemed to vary between quite a few events that weren’t related to each other which made it very hard to concentrate. I know that the church theme is part of the life of the family but in some cases I found the sections involving church-going to be very distracting from the rest of the story and they didn’t exactly ‘fit’ with the rest
Perfect for younger readers but wasn’t gripping enough for me
Some promising sections but nothing to really write home about 😅
Read
February 7, 2023An enjoyable third installation in this series. I like that these books are about more than the horses, while still keeping them an important part of the narrative. Abby's relationships with her parents, church family, friends, and her students help make her a more well-rounded character.
August 4, 2018
These books continue to take me back to my pre-teen years and my horse mania. I'm loving them. The only small ding I have about this one is that it spends much of the book setting up this "Is there or isn't there a ghost?" but then ends before addressing the central mystery.
The cynic in me wonders if this was written as a longer book and split by the publisher into two in order to make more sales. It happens. I'll be interested to see what happens in the next book.
The cynic in me wonders if this was written as a longer book and split by the publisher into two in order to make more sales. It happens. I'll be interested to see what happens in the next book.
February 12, 2025
Definitely not the best book Jane Smiley has done. The blurb gave me the impression that Abbey (main character) would be working with a "troubled horse" with a "mysterious background" but I don't think the storyline matches that description very well.
I struggled to finish it! The plot was a bit ambiguous to follow, and I think the story wandered off the horse Blue. It introduced the main characters school life and family life!
I struggled to finish it! The plot was a bit ambiguous to follow, and I think the story wandered off the horse Blue. It introduced the main characters school life and family life!
September 30, 2017
Meh. That's pretty much all I can say about it. It was kind of nice that Abby finally got her own horse, especially one she could grow with, but it was kind of corny. The whole ghost thing could've been written a little better. It wasn't the best book ever, but it was okay.
January 12, 2022
Cleaning out the shelves. It’s cute and I remember why I liked it as a kid, but it was pretty boring as an adult. Does have some sorta nice and a bit complex family themes for children though, which they may relate to
September 17, 2025
I loved this book but I didn't like the ghosty kind of stuff. I do like how at the end she figures out that Blues owner isn't the dark-haired girl and that the ghosts aren't real. I would give it a 4.5 if I could.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 20, 2019
Great book but bad ending.
August 23, 2019
Very good story- great read. I enjoy reading Jane Smiley's books and this particular one is no exception!
April 3, 2022
I am so not a horse person but books 1-3 were fun easy reads.
December 20, 2022
I wish I could give this book 0 stars. I had to fight my way through it. I was bored to tears but kept holding out hope that it might get better as I went along. I was very wrong.
January 16, 2023
So far my favorite is the 2nd one (A Good Horse).
January 29, 2019
2019 - bk 24. True Blue is about a horse who has lost its owner. Smiley sets up a mystery that has no real conclusion in this third novel in the series. Blue is skittish, hard to train, and Abby thinks she is seeing ghosts. Her father is having his own struggles with the rigidity of his personal beliefs and his relationship with his son, Abby's older brother. When flu hits the household, her father finally comes to an understanding that to bow and bend is not a denial of his beliefs, but an acceptance of grace. Abby finally figures out that the ghosts she sees are more in her mind and her concerns for the new horse in her care. What I don't like is how little time she spends with Jack (the colt from the last novel). I also didn't like that they didn't take the clue of the picture and track down the stable in it.
March 14, 2017
Jane Smiley suggested to her audience at the Perth Writers Festival last month (February 2017) that we look at her horse novels as well as the current trilogy. I have taken up this and read True Blue, titled Mystery Horse in my Australian edition. My attention was easily held by the pace of True Blue, which covers a short time in the life of 13 year old Abby. The novel covered areas I was familiar with from my Midwestern church upbringing before moving to Australia and an area I know nothing about: horse riding. Both areas were presented smoothly and engaged me.
February 25, 2021
i liked it i loved how she added a ghost and how it was about a horse
May 31, 2016
WARNING: THIS IS REVIEW WAS WRITTEN WITH HATE. IF YOU CAN'T STAND READING HATE REVIEWS ABOUT YOUR FAVORITE BOOK OR WHATEVER THEN DON'T READ IT. AND DON'T POST ANYTHING MEAN ABOUT MY REVIEW BECAUSE IT IS MY REVIEW AND MY OPINION. IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT THEN JUST STOP READING AND MOVE ON.
A beautiful dapple gray whose owner has just died in a car accident is left at the stables. When Abby Lovitt sees him she can't believe how beautiful he is. She can't help but ask if she can have him. Her dad says yes and the following Monday Abby picks up her new horse and takes him home to her family's horse ranch. Unlike Abby who is smitten, her father is wary about the new horse named Blue. True blue is a sweat horse and can't help but answer with a whinny when Abby, or anyone, call out "Blue, Blue, how are you?"... But occasionally Blue seems spooked, and paces or runs and becomes tense. It's as if he is looking for something... Or someone. Abby becomes curious about Blue's previous owner, and whether or not she is haunting her for taking her horse. What was she like? Nice? Mean? Is she haunting Abby because she wants her horse back? What are the strange things Abby hears or sees when she's with Blue? What is this horse's mystery?
This story takes place on a ranch somewhere in the world. Abby and her family have 6 horses and 7 including True Blue. Her dad and her brother got in a fight and so her brother left. They go to church ALL THE TIME and it barely talks about the horse. There are only a couple scenes where he is talked about and then the ghost of his previous owner is talked about maybe 3 or 4 times. Abby is a brat who breaks her arm riding another horse (not True Blue) and then gives some younger girls some riding lessons on one of her previous horses that they sold to the stables (not with Blue).
To be honest this book was very boring. I love horses and have ever since I was little. I have my own horse and love reading horse books. This book was barely about the horse. I mean the sample on the back makes it sound like a good horse and mystery book, but really all it's about is a girl named Abby, how her dad has issues with her brother, how they take in a new horse whose owner recently died, and how they go to church 24/7. I mean I was really disappointed with this book. I thought it would be so much better.
Like I can't even write most of my review because of how bad this book was. I mean I could, but it would take forever and it wouldn't be that good.
All in all, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, and it really wasn't that good. Therefor I must now decide what I am going to do with it. It will probably just end up sitting on my shelf gathering dust and then end up in the garbage at some point.
THANKS FOR READING.
A beautiful dapple gray whose owner has just died in a car accident is left at the stables. When Abby Lovitt sees him she can't believe how beautiful he is. She can't help but ask if she can have him. Her dad says yes and the following Monday Abby picks up her new horse and takes him home to her family's horse ranch. Unlike Abby who is smitten, her father is wary about the new horse named Blue. True blue is a sweat horse and can't help but answer with a whinny when Abby, or anyone, call out "Blue, Blue, how are you?"... But occasionally Blue seems spooked, and paces or runs and becomes tense. It's as if he is looking for something... Or someone. Abby becomes curious about Blue's previous owner, and whether or not she is haunting her for taking her horse. What was she like? Nice? Mean? Is she haunting Abby because she wants her horse back? What are the strange things Abby hears or sees when she's with Blue? What is this horse's mystery?
This story takes place on a ranch somewhere in the world. Abby and her family have 6 horses and 7 including True Blue. Her dad and her brother got in a fight and so her brother left. They go to church ALL THE TIME and it barely talks about the horse. There are only a couple scenes where he is talked about and then the ghost of his previous owner is talked about maybe 3 or 4 times. Abby is a brat who breaks her arm riding another horse (not True Blue) and then gives some younger girls some riding lessons on one of her previous horses that they sold to the stables (not with Blue).
To be honest this book was very boring. I love horses and have ever since I was little. I have my own horse and love reading horse books. This book was barely about the horse. I mean the sample on the back makes it sound like a good horse and mystery book, but really all it's about is a girl named Abby, how her dad has issues with her brother, how they take in a new horse whose owner recently died, and how they go to church 24/7. I mean I was really disappointed with this book. I thought it would be so much better.
Like I can't even write most of my review because of how bad this book was. I mean I could, but it would take forever and it wouldn't be that good.
All in all, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone, and it really wasn't that good. Therefor I must now decide what I am going to do with it. It will probably just end up sitting on my shelf gathering dust and then end up in the garbage at some point.
THANKS FOR READING.
June 19, 2012
First of all, and as a note to UK readers -- this book has been published as "Mystery Horse" in England. Occasionally, it does make sense (because of language differences) to publish under different titles, but in this case it is rather a mystery -- and nothing to do with horses. And I would further add that I prefer "True Blue" as a title.
This book is the third in a series about a young teenage girl called Abby. She lives on a horse ranch in California during the 1960s, but except for the food references, I didn't find the time period very noticeable. It could have been set during the last ten years, really. Abby's father is a horse trainer who buys horses, trains them, and then sells them on. (I believe this is a bigger plot point in the first two books.) He is also an evangelical Christian (also a plot point in all of the books), and of stern temperament. The book is told from Abby's point of view -- and although it is primarily a "horse" book, there are also conflicts and plot developments based on her friends and family.
Jane Smiley's passion for horses is well-known, and there is a great deal of information about understanding and "reading" horses in this book. It is a much deeper and emotionally complicated story than the average jolly pony club book. I've been recommending it to girls who are 12+ and crazy about horses.
This book is the third in a series about a young teenage girl called Abby. She lives on a horse ranch in California during the 1960s, but except for the food references, I didn't find the time period very noticeable. It could have been set during the last ten years, really. Abby's father is a horse trainer who buys horses, trains them, and then sells them on. (I believe this is a bigger plot point in the first two books.) He is also an evangelical Christian (also a plot point in all of the books), and of stern temperament. The book is told from Abby's point of view -- and although it is primarily a "horse" book, there are also conflicts and plot developments based on her friends and family.
Jane Smiley's passion for horses is well-known, and there is a great deal of information about understanding and "reading" horses in this book. It is a much deeper and emotionally complicated story than the average jolly pony club book. I've been recommending it to girls who are 12+ and crazy about horses.
November 3, 2012
I never was a horse crazy kid, but even as a horse-neutral adult, I loved learning about the horsey world in Jane Smiley’s book, TRUE BLUE. She not only gives her protagonist, young Abby, problems to solve as she lives and works on her parents’ horse farm, but Smiley brings to life the horses and their personalities. One example:
{The horses}…”were like kids in a classroom. Jack and Foxy and Happy were the ones in the front row who always raised their hands. Jefferson and Lincoln didn’t even realize that the teacher was talking, and Amazon and Sprinkles had their own ideas that they discussed when the others weren’t looking.”
Any reader who loves horses or is ready to fall in love with the horsey world will enjoy the riding and equine care details that complement Abby’s work with horses as she seeks to solve a mystery about the dead owner of a new horse and her ghost.
{The horses}…”were like kids in a classroom. Jack and Foxy and Happy were the ones in the front row who always raised their hands. Jefferson and Lincoln didn’t even realize that the teacher was talking, and Amazon and Sprinkles had their own ideas that they discussed when the others weren’t looking.”
Any reader who loves horses or is ready to fall in love with the horsey world will enjoy the riding and equine care details that complement Abby’s work with horses as she seeks to solve a mystery about the dead owner of a new horse and her ghost.
March 28, 2013
I thought this was a very good book. It's a good book for horse-lovers like me. Even though i am a horse lover i was not very intriging at first, i liked the way the author showed imagery with the way blue looked and acted..she was mysterious and i was confused on the way she acted at first but i came to realize that it was a really good book.
If you are interested in mysteries and love horses i would recommend this to you. This book shows that you have to take risks and try something new, not only in the horse world but in everything. This book is for horse lovers but also for people who want to see a change in a girl. I thought this book was inspirational.
Overall, this book taught me that you should take risks and try something new and just keep trying.
If you are interested in mysteries and love horses i would recommend this to you. This book shows that you have to take risks and try something new, not only in the horse world but in everything. This book is for horse lovers but also for people who want to see a change in a girl. I thought this book was inspirational.
Overall, this book taught me that you should take risks and try something new and just keep trying.
February 10, 2017
True blue is about a horse named blue who the Lovitts bought for their daughter Abby. The horse's owner had passed away in a car accident.Blue is nervous and paces a lot and he won't stop. After awhile Abby starts seeing a figure everywhere Blue is . What she doesn't know is that the figure is blue's owner. After awhile she puts the pieces together and tries to figure out why the owner is here.
The them is what you don't know can or can't hurt depending on what you do with it. In the story Abby wasn't worried about the ghost at all because she didn't know why it was there, she was intrigued not scared but the more she found out the worse it got and the worse it got for Blue.
The them is what you don't know can or can't hurt depending on what you do with it. In the story Abby wasn't worried about the ghost at all because she didn't know why it was there, she was intrigued not scared but the more she found out the worse it got and the worse it got for Blue.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews