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Pine Hollow #1
The Long Ride
Check out the first title in Books for Young Readers' great new series, Pine Hollow, by Bonnie Bryant, author of the popular series, The Saddle
Stevie Lake, Lisa Atwood, and Carole Hanson are best friends, and they share everything--including their love of horses. Now that they are in high school, they are as busy as ever. Stevie is spending more time on her car than her horse; Lisa is struggling to make her long distance relationship work; and Carole is so busy with her job and the horses she works with that she ignores the people around her! Then a terrible accident leaves a girl's life in danger. Will the strain these friends are facing be too much to keep their friendship alive?
Stevie Lake, Lisa Atwood, and Carole Hanson are best friends, and they share everything--including their love of horses. Now that they are in high school, they are as busy as ever. Stevie is spending more time on her car than her horse; Lisa is struggling to make her long distance relationship work; and Carole is so busy with her job and the horses she works with that she ignores the people around her! Then a terrible accident leaves a girl's life in danger. Will the strain these friends are facing be too much to keep their friendship alive?
192 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 6, 1998
17 people are currently reading
302 people want to read
About the author
Bonnie Bryant
387 books201 followersAmerican author of children's books. She is best known for creating the intermediate horse book series The Saddle Club, which was published from October 1988 until April 2001. The Saddle Club chronicled the adventures of thirteen-year-old Lisa Atwood and twelve-year-olds Stephanie "Stevie" Lake and Carole Hanson. The series was static in time; the girls never aged in 101 books, 7 special editions, and 3 Inside Stories.
Bonnie Bryant also wrote two spin-off series: Pony Tails, aimed at beginning readers, and Pine Hollow, aimed at teenage readers. The 16 Pony Tails books followed the lives of eight-year-olds May Grover, Corey Takamura, and Jasmine James. Pine Hollow featured Carole, Lisa, Stevie, and their new friends in a series set four years after The Saddle Club. Unlike The Saddle Club, Pine Hollow conformed to a realistic timeline. The 17 books took place over the span of less than a year. Later a television show called The Saddle Club, based on the books, was filmed in Australia.
Bonnie Bryant wrote at least 38 The Saddle Club books and 2 Pine Hollow books herself; after that they were taken over by a team of ghostwriters, a common practice in long-running children's book series. Ghostwriters for the Saddle Club and Pine Hollow books included Caitlin Macy (sometimes credited as Caitlin C. Macy), Catherine Hapka, Sallie Bissell, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, Helen Geraghty, Tina deVaron, Cat Johnston, Minna Jung, and Sheila Prescott-Vessey.
Bonnie Bryant is also the author of many novelizations of movies, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Karate Kid, and Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, written under her married name, B.B. Hiller. She also collaborated in the ghostwriting of The Baby-sitters Club Super Special #14: BSC in the USA, published under the name of its creator, Ann M. Martin.
Bonnie Bryant was born and raised in New York City. She met her husband, Neil W. Hiller, in college, where they both worked on the campus newspaper. They had two sons, Emmons Hiller and Andrew Hiller. Neil Hiller died in 1989. Many of Bonnie's books are dedicated to him.
***from wikipedia.org
Bonnie Bryant also wrote two spin-off series: Pony Tails, aimed at beginning readers, and Pine Hollow, aimed at teenage readers. The 16 Pony Tails books followed the lives of eight-year-olds May Grover, Corey Takamura, and Jasmine James. Pine Hollow featured Carole, Lisa, Stevie, and their new friends in a series set four years after The Saddle Club. Unlike The Saddle Club, Pine Hollow conformed to a realistic timeline. The 17 books took place over the span of less than a year. Later a television show called The Saddle Club, based on the books, was filmed in Australia.
Bonnie Bryant wrote at least 38 The Saddle Club books and 2 Pine Hollow books herself; after that they were taken over by a team of ghostwriters, a common practice in long-running children's book series. Ghostwriters for the Saddle Club and Pine Hollow books included Caitlin Macy (sometimes credited as Caitlin C. Macy), Catherine Hapka, Sallie Bissell, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, Helen Geraghty, Tina deVaron, Cat Johnston, Minna Jung, and Sheila Prescott-Vessey.
Bonnie Bryant is also the author of many novelizations of movies, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, The Karate Kid, and Honey, I Blew Up the Kid, written under her married name, B.B. Hiller. She also collaborated in the ghostwriting of The Baby-sitters Club Super Special #14: BSC in the USA, published under the name of its creator, Ann M. Martin.
Bonnie Bryant was born and raised in New York City. She met her husband, Neil W. Hiller, in college, where they both worked on the campus newspaper. They had two sons, Emmons Hiller and Andrew Hiller. Neil Hiller died in 1989. Many of Bonnie's books are dedicated to him.
***from wikipedia.org
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
August 4, 2017
I was going through a box of old books and found this. I didn't even mean to read it, but before I knew it, I had it all read. I wish I had the rest. #nostalgic
June 11, 2025
found this on a bookshelf at the barn and had to borrow it for a trip down memory lane. I read Saddle Club like crazy as a kid, but missed the Pine Hollow books. The amount of this book where nothing happens was astounding. I would absolutely read the next one if I can find it.
September 26, 2020
I only got this book because I thought it was a spin off or sequel to a series I loved as a kid. I never read these books as a kid but since I have them I might as well read them. The girls from the Saddle Club all grown up at sixteen. Lisa is heading off to visit her dad and his new family in California (seriouslybwhy do all these dad's from 80's and 90's YA series move to California after ditching their families?) Carole is the same I guess, and there's a new girl in town Callie Forrester the daughter of a congressman. This book might've made more sense if I knew the series, but not knowing much of the history I just kind of dove in. It all starts with a car crash, flashes back to the days leading up to the crash and then the aftermath. Stevie feels guilty for causing the crash and any injuries it caused and went from being the scheming Karen Brewer wannabee to sober and mature, maybe that's what Karen needs. Probably not. I liked older Stevie better and since for some reason I bought the first two books I guess I'll find out how she handles this accident and the aftermath in that book.
October 18, 2017
Three stars for nostalgia! This was a nice bit of escapism.
I loved the original Saddle Club books as a child, and was not disappointed by my return to Willow Creek as an adult. The quality of the writing in this book is slightly better than that in the Saddle Club books, but the book still had that Saddle Club feeling. Stevie and Carole and Lisa are still very much themselves, albeit a little older. There's still plenty of horse talk and riding. "The Long Ride" addresses some fairly serious themes without getting graphic or angsty about any of it, which also feels true to the original series-- I remember those books never shied away from difficult realities, either (Cobalt's death, Lisa's responsible choice to defer horse ownership, Carole's mother being dead, etc.).
That being said-- I found the description of Alex and Lisa falling in love comically absurd, and the whole end of the book felt rushed. After all that buildup the fallout from the accident itself should have been a bigger deal. But hey, it's a Saddle Club book, not Dickens, and that's perfectly fine!
I loved the original Saddle Club books as a child, and was not disappointed by my return to Willow Creek as an adult. The quality of the writing in this book is slightly better than that in the Saddle Club books, but the book still had that Saddle Club feeling. Stevie and Carole and Lisa are still very much themselves, albeit a little older. There's still plenty of horse talk and riding. "The Long Ride" addresses some fairly serious themes without getting graphic or angsty about any of it, which also feels true to the original series-- I remember those books never shied away from difficult realities, either (Cobalt's death, Lisa's responsible choice to defer horse ownership, Carole's mother being dead, etc.).
That being said-- I found the description of Alex and Lisa falling in love comically absurd, and the whole end of the book felt rushed. After all that buildup the fallout from the accident itself should have been a bigger deal. But hey, it's a Saddle Club book, not Dickens, and that's perfectly fine!
May 29, 2023
Wow, my first foray into high school times of the Saddle Club did not disappoint.
Groundwork, I LOVED the Saddle Club as a child. I crushed the Pony Pals, the Saddle Club, and every 90s child’s favorite thing to get in a series, the Super Editions! So reading this high school incarnation in some ways was like going home and returning to childhood friends. Just friends that now have different problems and worries, like jobs, cars, and boyfriends.
But Stevie, Carol, and Lisa are still best friends and still love horses and that my friends is really all that matters. If you liked the Saddle Club or grew up a horse girl/boy/person then you might enjoy this breeze of a read. Here’s to book two coming through on inter library loan.
Groundwork, I LOVED the Saddle Club as a child. I crushed the Pony Pals, the Saddle Club, and every 90s child’s favorite thing to get in a series, the Super Editions! So reading this high school incarnation in some ways was like going home and returning to childhood friends. Just friends that now have different problems and worries, like jobs, cars, and boyfriends.
But Stevie, Carol, and Lisa are still best friends and still love horses and that my friends is really all that matters. If you liked the Saddle Club or grew up a horse girl/boy/person then you might enjoy this breeze of a read. Here’s to book two coming through on inter library loan.
January 15, 2023
I loved The Saddle Club books, and when I found this series, I was beyond excited. In this spin off series, Carole, Lisa, and Stevie are teenagers in high school. That provides new challenges... course work, dating, driving, making time for horses. I loved being able to continue the journey with these characters I grew to love so much.
August 19, 2020
Perfect piece of nostalgia. :)
March 14, 2017
Growing up, the Saddle Club series was my absolute favorite books. I read (and owned) them all multiple times! I got the Pine Hollows series when I was in my early/mid teens, but only got halfway through this first book before I put it down.
In the mood for horse books, I picked this one up again. Seeing Carol, Lisa and Stevie again was like meeting old friends for the first time in a decade and a half. I picked up where I left off with them, and it was refreshing.
Despite that, this book only gets 3 stars from me. It might be that I'm honestly too old for this series by this point, but I also enjoy teen books like this for nostalgia quite often... the writing was well, but simple - almost "babyish" which made it hard for me to focus, get into and enjoy. That is my biggest hangup. It is a book meant for teens who have outgrown the Saddle Club, but the writing doesn't grow with them.
In the mood for horse books, I picked this one up again. Seeing Carol, Lisa and Stevie again was like meeting old friends for the first time in a decade and a half. I picked up where I left off with them, and it was refreshing.
Despite that, this book only gets 3 stars from me. It might be that I'm honestly too old for this series by this point, but I also enjoy teen books like this for nostalgia quite often... the writing was well, but simple - almost "babyish" which made it hard for me to focus, get into and enjoy. That is my biggest hangup. It is a book meant for teens who have outgrown the Saddle Club, but the writing doesn't grow with them.
July 18, 2018
I have read and reviewed many of the Saddle Club books on this blog. And yet, although I have quite a few of the Pine Hollow books by the same author, I hadn’t actually read any until recently! The Long Ride is the first book in the series and although Stevie, Carole and Lisa are older, it’s still the same Saddle Club members!
Read more at http://equus-blog.com/the-long-ride-b...
Read more at http://equus-blog.com/the-long-ride-b...
May 19, 2014
I came across this series at a garage sale, and bought it while unsure what to expect. Would it keep things clean like on the Disney Channel, or would it be soapy and bawdy like The O.C.? Fortunately, it turned out to be definitely the former; in fact, it had the feeling of the series premiere of a new show on the Mouse network. Though the themes are serious--suffering from a disability, a care accident, etc.--they are handled well and appropriately. Let's hope that the future volumes in this series follow suit.
June 26, 2011
I got this book off Paperback Swap on a whim because The Saddle Club was my favorite series as a kid, and I remembered hearing Bonnie Bryant had written a series about the girls as teenagers. So I was curious. While not the best-written book ever, it was like revisiting with long-lost old friends. It felt good to hang out with Carole, Stevie, and Lisa again. I look forward to reading the rest of the series, if not for major literary gain, then for pure kicks.
January 18, 2008
Loved it dudes :P
I even got Samson's name from these books :L
I even got Samson's name from these books :L
July 17, 2008
I remember enjoying these books as a teen because they were about horses. They aren't the best written books ever, but they are a fun quick read.
September 30, 2008
Read this series after the saddle club series... a little "advanced"...but very good.
May 27, 2010
Lisa heads off for Califorina, and Stevie, Carole and Callie get into trouble on the drive home. Will things ever be okay again?
March 19, 2013
Good book. I read the whole series after this!! I love that it isn't specifically for 7 year olds but it's still about horses!!
November 16, 2012
This was a wonderful series. The only thing I didn't like was the sudden and kind of crappy ending. Although the girls changed they will always be what they were when they were kids to me.
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January 28, 2014It was alright, i think i prefer the saddle club books and the pony tails, well there average. TOTS i love THe saddle club, veronica my Fav!
April 6, 2014
Amazingly brilliant! i loved the car accident; it was so enthralling!! cant wait till i get the next one
October 8, 2016
I loved reading the Saddle Club series when I was younger and enjoyed reading about the characters and ol' Pine Hollow again. It was a fun quick read!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews