What do you think?
Rate this book
Horses of the Dawn #1
The Escape
Get ready for a wild run in bestselling author Kathryn Lasky's brand-new middle grade animal fantasy series.
The horses are in danger. They were rounded up by the two-legs and forced onto a boat to cross the wide ocean. The journey went badly and the boat was deemed too heavy, so the two-legs forced the horses into the sea and sailed away, leaving the herd to die in the deep.
By a miracle, the horses survived and made it to land. All but one -- the ghost horse, the leader of the pack. Now it's up to her daughter, only a filly, to take charge of the terrified herd. Stranded in a new land, surrounded by two-legs, will the horses find a way to live safe and free?
The horses are in danger. They were rounded up by the two-legs and forced onto a boat to cross the wide ocean. The journey went badly and the boat was deemed too heavy, so the two-legs forced the horses into the sea and sailed away, leaving the herd to die in the deep.
By a miracle, the horses survived and made it to land. All but one -- the ghost horse, the leader of the pack. Now it's up to her daughter, only a filly, to take charge of the terrified herd. Stranded in a new land, surrounded by two-legs, will the horses find a way to live safe and free?
240 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2014
94 people are currently reading
1622 people want to read
About the author
Kathryn Lasky
266 books2,276 followersKathryn Lasky, also known as Kathryn Lasky Knight and E. L. Swann, is an award-winning American author of over one hundred books for children and adults. Best known for the Guardians of Ga’Hoole series, her work has been translated into 19 languages and includes historical fiction, fantasy, and nonfiction.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews
July 24, 2014
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
I had not read Laskey’s other novels (though my family had seen the LoG movie) and so perhaps I did not realize what I would be getting into with this book. I read this out loud to my 11 year old before bed and by 1/4 of the way through she asked me not to read it to her any more and to pick ANY other book. She loves horse stories such as Black Beauty so I thought she would love it when I chose it. Instead, it gave her nightmares.
The story follows a filly named Estrella and several other horses aboard a Spanish Conquistador warship in the South Atlantic of the US. Estrella is born on the ship but poor wind means they have been stuck out at sea for too long and several horses are jettisoned into the ocean to save on weight and food. The horses swim to an island and through the magic of past memories remembering their ancestral homeland, the filly Estrella leads them across a dangerous new land to find the ‘sweet grass’ of their generations ago homeland.
Right off the bat, there were a lot of inconsistencies in the story writing. For one thing, the horses make many scathing observations on the religions of their ‘two leg’ masters that pretty much boil down to catholicism being corrupt and cruel – and jews are persecuted and nice. I felt that the religion discussions were unnecessary and didn’t make sense considering the horses only had a rudimentary understanding of human society despite understanding the Spanish language perfectly. I felt like the author was using the story to make personal observations on society and religion that didn’t forward the story any.
Also problematic were little things: that the horses were thrown overboard to swim to a local island because the ship was out of water and food. That island ended up being located next to the mainland – so why didn’t the ship just stop and get more water and food at the island or mainland?
What turned both of us (my 11 year old and I) off was the graphic nature of the violence – after a gruesome scene of the filly’s mother being eaten alive by sharks, body parts floating up in a frothing bloody sea, my daughter had had enough. I asked her if it was too violent and she said, yeah. So I suggested it might only have been in the beginning but she looked at me and said, “Sure, and in the next 10 pages another one will probably be eaten by a bear.” Of course, I looked and sure enough, it was crocodiles next – she was right and I was wrong about the book losing the violence further in. I think for both of us, it was not a case of ‘Bambi’s Father dying’ sad – it was Bambi’s father seen in the movie burning alive horribly while his blood boils and his eyes pop out. Unnecessary, really, to get the idea across of a tragic waste.
Neither my 10 year old nor I shy away from children’s story violence nor are prudish about it. But at the same time, loss and danger can be addressed in a way suitable and yet effective, neither of which I felt was done here. If my daughter had wanted me to continue reading it, I would have done so. It is telling to me that she didn’t. Nor do I think she will want to revisit this when she is older.
Those were our experiences with the book and we did not finish around 40% of the way through. A different parent and middle school age child will likely enjoy this more than we did. But for my daughter and I both, it really was just too much.
Received as an arc from the publisher.
May 12, 2014
Oh, where do I start? When I first saw this book on the shelf, I thought, No way!! A SERIES about a horse, not just a stable where girl friends come to ride? But a wild horse story? Sweet! Then I saw it was by the author of Guardians, and while I have never read any of those books, I heard only good things about the story of owls. So this one should be just as amazing, right?
Wrong. I didn't expect perfection, as it's aimed at children rather than my own age group, but I didn't expect it to be as painful of a read as it was. The story starts off on a ship, and there's potential. Estrella is a foal filled with curiosity, which has potential. Then the mother sees a tiny horse and smells sweet grass and suddenly the story falters before the start. It felt, and continued to feel through the story, very awkward how the instinct passed down through the generations. "I saw it in my mamita's eye as she died!" rather than "I feel it in my bones"? That's not how instinct works. And then the constant (and I mean constant) repetition... From Estrella's "tiny horse" and "smell of sweet grass" obsessions, to Hold On's "we have no bit. We have no saddle. We have no master" chant. There was very little rewording, so it was just sentences and sentences reused over and over. Kind of boring.
And later on, Hold On rants about bits and how they "make it impossible for original thought". Anyone who's ever actually been on a horse's back knows how silly that is, to say a horse cannot think for itself and is blinded by having a bit in their mouth! Ha! He's just giving Estrella nightmares.
And speaking of Estrella, for a foal born on a ship, she has an odd way of bouncing between knowing very little of the world, and too much for her age. 'Instinct' supposedly leads her, passed down from generations, but the older horses lack all the natural instincts normal horses should have? That was weird. And then there's the intense discussions of human religion and even so far as fashion (is this My Little Pony?) and politics. Things I thought was kind of silly for "free" horses to worry about.
And there's the graphics. While I don't have so much an issue with the graphic nature of some of these scenes, they were awkward. Vague descriptions, vague hint of what was going on - then brutal graphic detail, then more vague stuff. Either write a graphic scene, or completely gloss over it. Don't cover it with gloss and then highlight a particular part for shock value, in a children's book... Why do that? Is Guardians just as bad?
And the characters... None of them stood out as an individual except the fawn's innocence. Estrella blindly follows instinct, Hold On is constantly trying to tell himself he hates bits, Azul likes to pick fights, Sky has his glass eye, Corazon and Angela are unsure of themselves... But when they're talking or acting, it's "horse" with "insert quirk here" rather than "Oh, that must be Estrella, I can tell!" It's hard to develop believable characters if the author is unsure of their subject, I suppose... The urge to write about "history" warring with writing as an animal the writer has little experience with, it seems.
My favorite part was a line where Estrella ponders how she's not just leading the horses north, but into her dreams... That line was magical. If only the rest of the novel had the same magic! I would have liked to see more "horseisms," phrases and terms the horses use to relate things to themselves in the world. (Think: Erin Hunter's Warriors series, how things relate to cats) That would have made the story seem more 'real,' rather than just human actions in horse form...
Wrong. I didn't expect perfection, as it's aimed at children rather than my own age group, but I didn't expect it to be as painful of a read as it was. The story starts off on a ship, and there's potential. Estrella is a foal filled with curiosity, which has potential. Then the mother sees a tiny horse and smells sweet grass and suddenly the story falters before the start. It felt, and continued to feel through the story, very awkward how the instinct passed down through the generations. "I saw it in my mamita's eye as she died!" rather than "I feel it in my bones"? That's not how instinct works. And then the constant (and I mean constant) repetition... From Estrella's "tiny horse" and "smell of sweet grass" obsessions, to Hold On's "we have no bit. We have no saddle. We have no master" chant. There was very little rewording, so it was just sentences and sentences reused over and over. Kind of boring.
And later on, Hold On rants about bits and how they "make it impossible for original thought". Anyone who's ever actually been on a horse's back knows how silly that is, to say a horse cannot think for itself and is blinded by having a bit in their mouth! Ha! He's just giving Estrella nightmares.
And speaking of Estrella, for a foal born on a ship, she has an odd way of bouncing between knowing very little of the world, and too much for her age. 'Instinct' supposedly leads her, passed down from generations, but the older horses lack all the natural instincts normal horses should have? That was weird. And then there's the intense discussions of human religion and even so far as fashion (is this My Little Pony?) and politics. Things I thought was kind of silly for "free" horses to worry about.
And there's the graphics. While I don't have so much an issue with the graphic nature of some of these scenes, they were awkward. Vague descriptions, vague hint of what was going on - then brutal graphic detail, then more vague stuff. Either write a graphic scene, or completely gloss over it. Don't cover it with gloss and then highlight a particular part for shock value, in a children's book... Why do that? Is Guardians just as bad?
And the characters... None of them stood out as an individual except the fawn's innocence. Estrella blindly follows instinct, Hold On is constantly trying to tell himself he hates bits, Azul likes to pick fights, Sky has his glass eye, Corazon and Angela are unsure of themselves... But when they're talking or acting, it's "horse" with "insert quirk here" rather than "Oh, that must be Estrella, I can tell!" It's hard to develop believable characters if the author is unsure of their subject, I suppose... The urge to write about "history" warring with writing as an animal the writer has little experience with, it seems.
My favorite part was a line where Estrella ponders how she's not just leading the horses north, but into her dreams... That line was magical. If only the rest of the novel had the same magic! I would have liked to see more "horseisms," phrases and terms the horses use to relate things to themselves in the world. (Think: Erin Hunter's Warriors series, how things relate to cats) That would have made the story seem more 'real,' rather than just human actions in horse form...
December 25, 2021
So I have just finished this, the first book in the Horses of the Dawn trilogy. And yes, I had decided on purpose to read horse books on Christmas. Because I am horse crazy. Hee-hee. Still I have some mixed feelings about this book. It's not bad or anything and I certainly know about eohippus (the dawn horse mentioned in the title - the very first horse) - it's the fact that the behavior of the horses in here don't actually jive up with what I know about real horses. With real horses a young filly (not even a year old yet!) is never going to lead a herd. How can that be? It's unheard of. A filly would not have the needed knowledge and I believe they are still learning the silent language of horses. Testing their strengths, seeing what they can do and get away with... So if you decide to read this do realize the horses in here act in some ways more like humans (but even then when would a young child lead a group of humans and make all the decisions as to where they are going to go)?
So they are horses but don't always act or think like horses...
So this is about a group of horses that are on a ship at sea near the coast of Mexico. The ship is having problems so the humans decide to toss several horses overboard in hope to lighten the load. And that is the beginning of the adventure of Estrella and her fellow herd members. And while Estrella is a very young filly she has a unique gift: she can see and smell the ancient past from the days of eohippus. And this ancient memory leads her and the other herd members on a very long quest, a quest for the Sweet Grass.
Along the way they face countless dangers, so the book contains many thrills and chills. Not only does man threaten to recapture them but there are other assorted dangers too, many with sharp teeth.
Of course not all of the characters get along with each other. That adds another level of difficulty.
The book kept mentioning the Ibers and I had to go look up where/who that is. Since they (the humans) in here were speaking Spanish and they wanted gold from the indians I had guessed they were from Spain...but I had never heard the name Ibers before. I had thought they had been called the conquestadors? And since I don't know the term I don't see how a child is going to know who the Ibers are? Even my first google search came up with nothing for "Ibers" and google wanted to change the word to "ubers"!
And the more I think about it, the more questions I am left with about this book. Like that stuff at the beginning...the swim to freedom after being in the hold for months in slings. Wouldn't the horses' legs be incredibly weak from being in those slings? With humans the muscles wither away from bed-rest. Wouldn't the same happen to horses? I am mentioning this since the back cover describes the horses being tossed overboard so it's not a plot secret. They weren't even standing. They were in slings. And then I am supposed to believe they can out of the blue do all of that swimming? I guess I am too logical. But these details do bug me. It just seems impossible.
I suppose kids wouldn't know any better?
And I am not even going to mention Estrella and that plant!
Yet I am very ok with Estrella being guided by visions and being mystical.
Hopefully the next book in the trilogy will be better.
So they are horses but don't always act or think like horses...
So this is about a group of horses that are on a ship at sea near the coast of Mexico. The ship is having problems so the humans decide to toss several horses overboard in hope to lighten the load. And that is the beginning of the adventure of Estrella and her fellow herd members. And while Estrella is a very young filly she has a unique gift: she can see and smell the ancient past from the days of eohippus. And this ancient memory leads her and the other herd members on a very long quest, a quest for the Sweet Grass.
Along the way they face countless dangers, so the book contains many thrills and chills. Not only does man threaten to recapture them but there are other assorted dangers too, many with sharp teeth.
Of course not all of the characters get along with each other. That adds another level of difficulty.
The book kept mentioning the Ibers and I had to go look up where/who that is. Since they (the humans) in here were speaking Spanish and they wanted gold from the indians I had guessed they were from Spain...but I had never heard the name Ibers before. I had thought they had been called the conquestadors? And since I don't know the term I don't see how a child is going to know who the Ibers are? Even my first google search came up with nothing for "Ibers" and google wanted to change the word to "ubers"!
And the more I think about it, the more questions I am left with about this book. Like that stuff at the beginning...the swim to freedom after being in the hold for months in slings. Wouldn't the horses' legs be incredibly weak from being in those slings? With humans the muscles wither away from bed-rest. Wouldn't the same happen to horses? I am mentioning this since the back cover describes the horses being tossed overboard so it's not a plot secret. They weren't even standing. They were in slings. And then I am supposed to believe they can out of the blue do all of that swimming? I guess I am too logical. But these details do bug me. It just seems impossible.
I suppose kids wouldn't know any better?
And I am not even going to mention Estrella and that plant!
Yet I am very ok with Estrella being guided by visions and being mystical.
Hopefully the next book in the trilogy will be better.
August 9, 2018
Personal Response
I really enjoyed this book. It was an adventure book and showed a lot of the history when the America’s were discovered. A lot of it was fantasy, because horses can not really talk, but it also shows how animals suffered because of the humans landing in the New World.
Plot
In the book the main character, Estrella, is a baby horse that was born on a ship. Her mother was a Spanish horse that was coming from Spain to explore the America’s. There was no wind at sea for a while, so the ship was just stranded in one place. They were running out of food for the crew and the horses. The Captain finally decided to throw the horses overboard in order for the ship to move. Estrella’s mother and her were some of the horses to be thrown overboard. They all made it to land safely except for one. That one was Estrella’s mother. She was the leader of the herd. Now it is up to Estrella to lead the herd to safety and find freedom away from the humans.
Characterization
When Estrella was born she had no idea how the real world was. She was born in a dark ship and was kept in a sling for most of the time. She was always curious about the real world, and her mother always told her about the stars which she was named after. The day they threw the horses overboard Estrella was confused and scared on what was happening. She has never seen water. When Estrella and the heard made it to land she was tired, but she knew she had to be the leader of the herd even though she had never seen or experienced the real world. After they were free she had all of the skills it takes to be a leader in the herd.
Recommendation
I recommend this book for kids in middle school and up. I feel it may be a little to hard of a book for older elementary kids.
I really enjoyed this book. It was an adventure book and showed a lot of the history when the America’s were discovered. A lot of it was fantasy, because horses can not really talk, but it also shows how animals suffered because of the humans landing in the New World.
Plot
In the book the main character, Estrella, is a baby horse that was born on a ship. Her mother was a Spanish horse that was coming from Spain to explore the America’s. There was no wind at sea for a while, so the ship was just stranded in one place. They were running out of food for the crew and the horses. The Captain finally decided to throw the horses overboard in order for the ship to move. Estrella’s mother and her were some of the horses to be thrown overboard. They all made it to land safely except for one. That one was Estrella’s mother. She was the leader of the herd. Now it is up to Estrella to lead the herd to safety and find freedom away from the humans.
Characterization
When Estrella was born she had no idea how the real world was. She was born in a dark ship and was kept in a sling for most of the time. She was always curious about the real world, and her mother always told her about the stars which she was named after. The day they threw the horses overboard Estrella was confused and scared on what was happening. She has never seen water. When Estrella and the heard made it to land she was tired, but she knew she had to be the leader of the herd even though she had never seen or experienced the real world. After they were free she had all of the skills it takes to be a leader in the herd.
Recommendation
I recommend this book for kids in middle school and up. I feel it may be a little to hard of a book for older elementary kids.
December 9, 2013
As someone who grew up reading all the horse books (you know the ones: My Friend Flicka, Black Beauty, The Silver Brumby, The Black Stallion, and all the rest) I was looking forward to this. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to expectations.
Estrella is born on board ship, and has never felt solid ground beneath her hooves. She lives in a sling, not even able to be with her mother all the time. Running short of supplies, the sailors loose the horses into the sea near an island, setting them free, and there the adventure begins. The horses choose new names for themselves, ones which suit themselves rather than names based on physical attributes as the humans did, and deal with the difficulties of change and adapting to their new world, but it feels unrealistic for the story.
Estrella's introduction to the world captures the inquisitiveness and wonder of a child, but she and the other horses remain too human for my liking. The target audience is middle school children, yet the language plus the use of unfamiliar Spanish inserted in the text push it above their normal reading level. On that basis, it's better as a read-aloud or discussion book.
The real problem is the plot, which is definitely unsuitable. I found it distasteful and over the top as an adult, and I can't imagine giving this to a child.
I struggled to finish this, and if I'd picked it up on my own - and hadn't been given a copy to review - I would have quit after the crocodiles. Normally I'd finish a book like this within a day, but it took me over 3 because I kept putting it down and had to force myself to pick it back up. I've given it 2 stars anyway because the writing itself was good, and the idea was good, it's just the combination of plot and use of language made it unsuitable.
Disclaimer: I was given a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Estrella is born on board ship, and has never felt solid ground beneath her hooves. She lives in a sling, not even able to be with her mother all the time. Running short of supplies, the sailors loose the horses into the sea near an island, setting them free, and there the adventure begins. The horses choose new names for themselves, ones which suit themselves rather than names based on physical attributes as the humans did, and deal with the difficulties of change and adapting to their new world, but it feels unrealistic for the story.
Estrella's introduction to the world captures the inquisitiveness and wonder of a child, but she and the other horses remain too human for my liking. The target audience is middle school children, yet the language plus the use of unfamiliar Spanish inserted in the text push it above their normal reading level. On that basis, it's better as a read-aloud or discussion book.
The real problem is the plot, which is definitely unsuitable. I found it distasteful and over the top as an adult, and I can't imagine giving this to a child.
I struggled to finish this, and if I'd picked it up on my own - and hadn't been given a copy to review - I would have quit after the crocodiles. Normally I'd finish a book like this within a day, but it took me over 3 because I kept putting it down and had to force myself to pick it back up. I've given it 2 stars anyway because the writing itself was good, and the idea was good, it's just the combination of plot and use of language made it unsuitable.
Disclaimer: I was given a free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
December 30, 2015
I know I've been hard on Kathryn Lasky in some of my other reviews. I found a lot of faults with her Guardians of Ga'Hoole series as well as her Wolves of the Beyond, and I don't take back my opinions of them. Yet I keep picking up her books! Perhaps I just can't stop reading about owls, wolves, and horses, all of which are some of my favorite animals. And perhaps I can't stop giving this lady a chance because I find promise in her ideas, if not her execution.
One thing I think is much stronger about this series, compared to the two others, is the setting. This is a historical story, following a band of horses that escape domestication after being shipped to the 'new world' by Spanish conquerors. And Kathryn has very obviously done her research when she wrote this book. The descriptions of the lands and times feels accurate. And the information conveyed about horses, I found to be very factual and interesting. It all lends believability to this story, which was absent in her books about owls going to war and wolves ruling the wilderness.
The Spanish influence on the story, such as the horse's names and the phrases they use, was very refreshing. It was not overdone nor did it feel gimmicky. It made me want a Spanish dictionary beside me as I read!
I eagerly look forward to her other books in this series, even though I'll pass on the owls and wolves from now on.
One thing I think is much stronger about this series, compared to the two others, is the setting. This is a historical story, following a band of horses that escape domestication after being shipped to the 'new world' by Spanish conquerors. And Kathryn has very obviously done her research when she wrote this book. The descriptions of the lands and times feels accurate. And the information conveyed about horses, I found to be very factual and interesting. It all lends believability to this story, which was absent in her books about owls going to war and wolves ruling the wilderness.
The Spanish influence on the story, such as the horse's names and the phrases they use, was very refreshing. It was not overdone nor did it feel gimmicky. It made me want a Spanish dictionary beside me as I read!
I eagerly look forward to her other books in this series, even though I'll pass on the owls and wolves from now on.
February 3, 2023
This a review for the series.
It’s very good as far as plot and keeping it interesting goes. But there are several gruesome parts when the horses interact with humans. Lots of human sacrifice, gruesome descriptions of battle results, and things of that sort.
Also keep in mind it has some “magical” things going on as with all Lasky’s animal series - things like prophecies through dreams and such.
Overall, interesting but, she ruined it for kids when she put in all the details about the humans. It easily could’ve been left out.
It’s very good as far as plot and keeping it interesting goes. But there are several gruesome parts when the horses interact with humans. Lots of human sacrifice, gruesome descriptions of battle results, and things of that sort.
Also keep in mind it has some “magical” things going on as with all Lasky’s animal series - things like prophecies through dreams and such.
Overall, interesting but, she ruined it for kids when she put in all the details about the humans. It easily could’ve been left out.
May 27, 2025
Surprisingly disturbing. The level of graphic violence and gore was not what I expected in a horse story for children.
March 11, 2017
I absolutely hated the book. It was extremely boring and I ended up abandoning it at chapter four
March 5, 2017
Buckskin foal destined to lead the herd is born on a ship gets turned loose for plot device reasons along with some other horses, becomes an orphan and somehow magically becomes the herd leader because she has a sixth sense the others lack for no adequately explained reason. An old horse becomes her mentor and makes sure the others follow her, a male foal -conveniently almost her age but slightly older- is part of the group. A big filly older than she wants to take the leadership position. Okay, boring, but okay.
And then the unbearable begins. For me, it wasn't the violence and gore, which was a bit ghastly for the age range this is aimed at in places, I'll admit, but it didn't bother me . I even excused the reuse of words and phrases, and the distinctly human views of the horses and the fact that they are all very different colors when they would more likely mostly be the same or similar.
But... how shall I explain this? Humans are evil, except for the most primitive ones (because people were better once upon a time... somehow). Religion is evil, but blind faith in dreams and visions that only one horse sees somehow isn't. God is contemptible and/or a delusion only fools believe in, but let's all follow the spirit pony into the new world on -get this- faith. Oh, and in case somebody didn't get the memo, let's have a blind character who becomes a spirit. Blind faith. Get it? Get it? Ha. So clever.
Someone must've read The Sight before they wrote this, because it has the same struggling attempt at being anti-religion while presenting evolution in the form of a religion, as if that's somehow more real, profound and intelligent, even though the characters are following their faith in the same way as anyone with religion would except that there's no meaning or point to it despite picturesque descriptions and lengthy monologue.
Even though the evolution/religion angle doesn't really add anything, it's the basis for why the horses are going the way they are. It's not enough to just say they're looking for a good place for horses with good grass, few predators and no humans, they have to be seeking a magic place where the spirits of their ancestors are guiding them to. Why am I harping on about this? Well because the book did. And it kept doing it. Oh, remember that religion and God are both bad. This faith is different... because reasons. Trust the magic mushroom dreams.
Gah, kill this type of novel with fire, I'm sick of it.
And then the unbearable begins. For me, it wasn't the violence and gore, which was a bit ghastly for the age range this is aimed at in places, I'll admit, but it didn't bother me . I even excused the reuse of words and phrases, and the distinctly human views of the horses and the fact that they are all very different colors when they would more likely mostly be the same or similar.
But... how shall I explain this? Humans are evil, except for the most primitive ones (because people were better once upon a time... somehow). Religion is evil, but blind faith in dreams and visions that only one horse sees somehow isn't. God is contemptible and/or a delusion only fools believe in, but let's all follow the spirit pony into the new world on -get this- faith. Oh, and in case somebody didn't get the memo, let's have a blind character who becomes a spirit. Blind faith. Get it? Get it? Ha. So clever.
Someone must've read The Sight before they wrote this, because it has the same struggling attempt at being anti-religion while presenting evolution in the form of a religion, as if that's somehow more real, profound and intelligent, even though the characters are following their faith in the same way as anyone with religion would except that there's no meaning or point to it despite picturesque descriptions and lengthy monologue.
Even though the evolution/religion angle doesn't really add anything, it's the basis for why the horses are going the way they are. It's not enough to just say they're looking for a good place for horses with good grass, few predators and no humans, they have to be seeking a magic place where the spirits of their ancestors are guiding them to. Why am I harping on about this? Well because the book did. And it kept doing it. Oh, remember that religion and God are both bad. This faith is different... because reasons. Trust the magic mushroom dreams.
Gah, kill this type of novel with fire, I'm sick of it.
January 6, 2017
When I saw this book was by the author of Guardians of Ga'Hoole, I figured it would be good. I hadn't read Guardians, but I thought I had heard good things about it, and it had had a movie made of it (which I also hadn't seen), so I had hopes that Horses of the Dawn would be good.
Oh how wrong I was.
I love talking animal stories, but the biggest sin one can make while writing them is to make the animals be nothing but humans in animal shape. This book could not have done that more if it had set out to do that. (WHY, author? Why would you do that? Why write about animals, then make them not animals?)
Nothing in this book made sense:
- The horses had never been on a ship before, but they knew technical names for items on it and the ship itself.
- The horses were kept in slings, their hooves barely touching the ground. One horse gave birth, and they took the foal away immediately, before it could nurse even once, and put it into a sling. They kept it there for the first month+ of its life, taking it down only once or twice a day to hold it up while it nursed.
- The horses were thrown overboard. The foal who had never once even stood up under her own power swam a league (3.4 miles) to get to an island. (Yes, swimming would be easier than standing, but still. She wouldn't have developed the muscles to be able to swim far! Plus when they got to the island, she had no problem at all walking, running, and keeping up with the other horses.)
- While the horses were swimming, a shark attacked them. A single shark. It killed and ate the foal's mother. No other sharks showed up.
- Once they reached the land, a jaguar attacked the horses. It pounced on one, hard enough to knock it down, and was biting it... until a pair of parrots drove it off, leaving the horse with nothing but the shallowest of cuts from where one of the claws caught her skin...
There were more minor annoying things too, like even in the blurb of the book, the author kept calling a group of horses a 'pack'. "All but one -- the ghost horse, the leader of the pack."
I really should have given up on this book immediately instead of pushing myself to hit the 50% mark so I could count it. It was just bad, bad, bad. I'd rate it lower than one star if I could.
Oh how wrong I was.
I love talking animal stories, but the biggest sin one can make while writing them is to make the animals be nothing but humans in animal shape. This book could not have done that more if it had set out to do that. (WHY, author? Why would you do that? Why write about animals, then make them not animals?)
Nothing in this book made sense:
- The horses had never been on a ship before, but they knew technical names for items on it and the ship itself.
- The horses were kept in slings, their hooves barely touching the ground. One horse gave birth, and they took the foal away immediately, before it could nurse even once, and put it into a sling. They kept it there for the first month+ of its life, taking it down only once or twice a day to hold it up while it nursed.
- The horses were thrown overboard. The foal who had never once even stood up under her own power swam a league (3.4 miles) to get to an island. (Yes, swimming would be easier than standing, but still. She wouldn't have developed the muscles to be able to swim far! Plus when they got to the island, she had no problem at all walking, running, and keeping up with the other horses.)
- While the horses were swimming, a shark attacked them. A single shark. It killed and ate the foal's mother. No other sharks showed up.
- Once they reached the land, a jaguar attacked the horses. It pounced on one, hard enough to knock it down, and was biting it... until a pair of parrots drove it off, leaving the horse with nothing but the shallowest of cuts from where one of the claws caught her skin...
There were more minor annoying things too, like even in the blurb of the book, the author kept calling a group of horses a 'pack'. "All but one -- the ghost horse, the leader of the pack."
I really should have given up on this book immediately instead of pushing myself to hit the 50% mark so I could count it. It was just bad, bad, bad. I'd rate it lower than one star if I could.
May 16, 2016
This is a great book for people who love adventures. I personally really enjoyed this book as I have a love for both horses and adventure but I think this book can be good for non-horse lovers too! I like how this book is filled with suspense and lots of action.
This book is about a herd of horses who have been living in slings on a boat. One of the mares are pregnant and the foal is born on the ship. The foal has never seen outside the ship and when she is thrown off the boat with her mother and the rest of the herd they have to find land. With no people, leaders, saddles or bits these horses have to survive in the wilderness with a foal who has never ran or seen grass before. But do the mother and foal even make it to land?
This book is about a herd of horses who have been living in slings on a boat. One of the mares are pregnant and the foal is born on the ship. The foal has never seen outside the ship and when she is thrown off the boat with her mother and the rest of the herd they have to find land. With no people, leaders, saddles or bits these horses have to survive in the wilderness with a foal who has never ran or seen grass before. But do the mother and foal even make it to land?
January 27, 2015
The story moved along well and my children and I cared about the characters. However, the lead character's "wisdom from before birth" was hokey. There was also some graphic violence that I had to edit out as I read. I'm really glad my children weren't reading this to themselves.
I was bothered by the characterization of wild horses as so much happier than well cared for domestic horses. Humans were made out to be the bad guys, even when some of the animals had been valued and even loved. The reality is that a well cared for horse can outlive a wild one by 10 years or more.
I would be very reluctant to recommend this series.
I was bothered by the characterization of wild horses as so much happier than well cared for domestic horses. Humans were made out to be the bad guys, even when some of the animals had been valued and even loved. The reality is that a well cared for horse can outlive a wild one by 10 years or more.
I would be very reluctant to recommend this series.
July 26, 2019
This book is a bit different from the other books by Kathryn Lasky that I have read, as there are humans in it, and they aren't known as the Others. I like how the horses could understand some of what the humans said, but when they were wild for a little while, they couldn't understand them anymore. I thought that was an interesting idea. My favorite part was when Estrella and most of her herd managed to escape the fire. My least favorite part was when the horses were thrown off the ship and Estrella's mother was killed by the shark. I liked how when the horses were free, they changed their names.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 22, 2018
Ive read this book many times, its still good at any age as well. This horse has proven bravery and courage,even though her hoofs had never touched solid ground.
January 8, 2021
Let me start by saying that if I could I would give this book 2.5 stars because I feel that it is not a two-star book, but at the same time, I could not give it a 3 because it just wasn't according to my rating system (which I will attach at the end). The Escape is NOT a terrible book. It has an action-filled plot that never stagnates and a cute, childish, and naive main character. It's a good novel for its target audience (children and young kids). I believe that if I was reading this when I was 6 or 7 years old, I would have enjoyed it.
However, I do not enjoy it now. There is something about it that seems unrealistic and absurd. As a kid, these are things that I would be able to ignore and not consider. I know that this is an enjoyable story based on technique and deliverance, but I cannot enjoy it because there are too many flaws that bother me.
One thing that I can never seem to get on-board with is talking, comprehendsive animals. This is even more offsetting in this novel because they are both speaking in English AND Spanish. They fully understand their human masters and each other, as well as some other animals - such as birds. The reasoning for being able to communicate is because they both had human masters before who spoke Spanish and therefore they can communicate with each other... This is an absurd reason because they ARE NOT speaking Spanish to each other.
Furthermore, I believe that there are too many unnecessary characters. Corazon, Angela, and Verdad are all characters that I see as unnecessary and because they are insignificant. The author's attempt to make them into "significant" characters bogs up the plot and the narrative because they give a surplus of characters that are not actually important to the plot.
I do love the historical addition to this novel and the author's take on how these events affected the horse. I feel that this is something that is interesting and appropriate.
The dynamics between the horses were strange. I related more to Azul's distrust of Estrella, the main character, than Hold On's trust of Estrella. I understand that she is leading by "instinct", but it seems odd and insensible. Perhaps this annoys me because I do not favor it when the main character is too "glorified" which is how it felt in this novel. I felt that Estrella was too glorified and made to be the "end-all-be-all" of this novel. I hate perfect characters - characters that don't make mistakes, that don't learn and grow, characters that don't have "accidents." I feel that there was a kind of repetitiveness to the points being made.
The reactions of the animals are unrealistic as well -- for both animals and humans. Even after the losses, for nearly all the instances, there was no sign of real grievance. This bothered me because the loss is important and heavy. This could've been something that could have been elaborated upon and this would have given more depth and insight into both the plot and the individual character.
However, again, I recognize that this novel was written for younger children and therefore I understand the author's choice to not elaborate or make this novel more thought-provoking.
I did like the first quarter of the novel, but everything after kind of bored me. I honestly did not want to finish reading this, but I will say that even though my boredom, I will admit that there were certain interesting parts. The plot and the action-packed activities MAY captivate other readers, but I think that my disinterest and disconnect from the characters as well as their "quest" made me indifferent to their trials and obstacles.
Personally, I think that this novel would have been enjoyable if I didn't find the end-goal or the characters uninteresting and bland. The author has a nice writing style and this novel has unachieved potential.
I believe that this is a good novel for children, but could have more impact and be better with some tweeks.
Rating System:
1 Star - Did not enjoy
2 Stars- Sections that I did enjoy, but overall did not enjoy.
3 Stars- I did enjoy this, but there are some sections that bothered me or caused less enjoyment.
4 Stars - I did enjoy the majority of this
5 Stars- I loved this! -- wouldn't change a thing. Amazing!!!!
However, I do not enjoy it now. There is something about it that seems unrealistic and absurd. As a kid, these are things that I would be able to ignore and not consider. I know that this is an enjoyable story based on technique and deliverance, but I cannot enjoy it because there are too many flaws that bother me.
One thing that I can never seem to get on-board with is talking, comprehendsive animals. This is even more offsetting in this novel because they are both speaking in English AND Spanish. They fully understand their human masters and each other, as well as some other animals - such as birds. The reasoning for being able to communicate is because they both had human masters before who spoke Spanish and therefore they can communicate with each other... This is an absurd reason because they ARE NOT speaking Spanish to each other.
Furthermore, I believe that there are too many unnecessary characters. Corazon, Angela, and Verdad are all characters that I see as unnecessary and because they are insignificant. The author's attempt to make them into "significant" characters bogs up the plot and the narrative because they give a surplus of characters that are not actually important to the plot.
I do love the historical addition to this novel and the author's take on how these events affected the horse. I feel that this is something that is interesting and appropriate.
The dynamics between the horses were strange. I related more to Azul's distrust of Estrella, the main character, than Hold On's trust of Estrella. I understand that she is leading by "instinct", but it seems odd and insensible. Perhaps this annoys me because I do not favor it when the main character is too "glorified" which is how it felt in this novel. I felt that Estrella was too glorified and made to be the "end-all-be-all" of this novel. I hate perfect characters - characters that don't make mistakes, that don't learn and grow, characters that don't have "accidents." I feel that there was a kind of repetitiveness to the points being made.
The reactions of the animals are unrealistic as well -- for both animals and humans. Even after the losses, for nearly all the instances, there was no sign of real grievance. This bothered me because the loss is important and heavy. This could've been something that could have been elaborated upon and this would have given more depth and insight into both the plot and the individual character.
However, again, I recognize that this novel was written for younger children and therefore I understand the author's choice to not elaborate or make this novel more thought-provoking.
I did like the first quarter of the novel, but everything after kind of bored me. I honestly did not want to finish reading this, but I will say that even though my boredom, I will admit that there were certain interesting parts. The plot and the action-packed activities MAY captivate other readers, but I think that my disinterest and disconnect from the characters as well as their "quest" made me indifferent to their trials and obstacles.
Personally, I think that this novel would have been enjoyable if I didn't find the end-goal or the characters uninteresting and bland. The author has a nice writing style and this novel has unachieved potential.
I believe that this is a good novel for children, but could have more impact and be better with some tweeks.
Rating System:
1 Star - Did not enjoy
2 Stars- Sections that I did enjoy, but overall did not enjoy.
3 Stars- I did enjoy this, but there are some sections that bothered me or caused less enjoyment.
4 Stars - I did enjoy the majority of this
5 Stars- I loved this! -- wouldn't change a thing. Amazing!!!!
December 26, 2018
Star Rating: 5 stars
Kathryn Lasky is one of my favorite authors from my childhood, and I thought I had read all of her books (I have read both Guardians of Ga’Hoole and Wolves of the Beyond series), but I discovered when I was on Goodreads that she had another series that I had never heard about, Horses of the Dawn, so I decided to pick up the 1st book, The Escape. This book tells the story of Estrella, a young filly born in the most unlikely of places, a New World explorer ship’s hold. When the winds dies and the ship becomes dead in the water, the explorer and his crew throw all the horses overboard, and thus begins the journey of the Horses of the Dawn. Once they reach land, the horses start to realize that they have an unforeseen connection to this New World, a connection stretching back to the beginning of time. Can this connection help them survive in this New World?
This best thing about this book was the beginning of time connection. As the horses travel the New World, they start to see cave paintings/craving of a small dog-sized horse and the main character, Estrella, has multiple dreams and visions of this tiny horse. If you read the author’s note at the end of the book or have any concept of evolution, then you will know that this “tiny horse” is the evolutionary ancestor of the horses depicted in this book, just like these horses are the ancestors of the wild mustangs of the American West. I think this is a really cool aspect of this book and a very under-utilized as a troupe or an explanation for mythos that other series should use as well, and only of the reasons why Lasky remains still one of my favorite authors when I have fallen out of love with so many others.
I also really love how each individual horse has its own personality as in some of the other animal-centered series, the characters all seem to be similar, and I also love how Lasky didn’t sugarcoat any of the deaths in this book. She completely showcase nature following its natural course of action which I appreciate as children need to understand that the concept of “survival of the fittest” (This is a middle-grade series). With every scene, character, and chapter, Lasky showcases why she is the forerunner and creator of the animal-centered fantasy tradition (She was one of the 1st to write these kinds of books or at least she was the 1st one that I found).
All in all, Lasky still impresses me, and I can’t wait to keep reading the rest of this series and anything that she puts out. 5 stars!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kathryn Lasky is one of my favorite authors from my childhood, and I thought I had read all of her books (I have read both Guardians of Ga’Hoole and Wolves of the Beyond series), but I discovered when I was on Goodreads that she had another series that I had never heard about, Horses of the Dawn, so I decided to pick up the 1st book, The Escape. This book tells the story of Estrella, a young filly born in the most unlikely of places, a New World explorer ship’s hold. When the winds dies and the ship becomes dead in the water, the explorer and his crew throw all the horses overboard, and thus begins the journey of the Horses of the Dawn. Once they reach land, the horses start to realize that they have an unforeseen connection to this New World, a connection stretching back to the beginning of time. Can this connection help them survive in this New World?
This best thing about this book was the beginning of time connection. As the horses travel the New World, they start to see cave paintings/craving of a small dog-sized horse and the main character, Estrella, has multiple dreams and visions of this tiny horse. If you read the author’s note at the end of the book or have any concept of evolution, then you will know that this “tiny horse” is the evolutionary ancestor of the horses depicted in this book, just like these horses are the ancestors of the wild mustangs of the American West. I think this is a really cool aspect of this book and a very under-utilized as a troupe or an explanation for mythos that other series should use as well, and only of the reasons why Lasky remains still one of my favorite authors when I have fallen out of love with so many others.
I also really love how each individual horse has its own personality as in some of the other animal-centered series, the characters all seem to be similar, and I also love how Lasky didn’t sugarcoat any of the deaths in this book. She completely showcase nature following its natural course of action which I appreciate as children need to understand that the concept of “survival of the fittest” (This is a middle-grade series). With every scene, character, and chapter, Lasky showcases why she is the forerunner and creator of the animal-centered fantasy tradition (She was one of the 1st to write these kinds of books or at least she was the 1st one that I found).
All in all, Lasky still impresses me, and I can’t wait to keep reading the rest of this series and anything that she puts out. 5 stars!!!!!!!!!!!!
September 5, 2023
The Escape is about ship-bound Royal horses making a journey with the Spanish to get gold from the New World. The horses are in the hold in slings. They can't reach the deck and hang swinging with the rolling sea. Perlina had her foal on the ship and she spoke to her foal of their linage. They were from the first heard. She tried to explain what the sweet grass and the meadows were like.
When the ship was running low on supplies, they gave the horses less feed and water. The horses were not a priority. The Seeker bought them with him to conquer the people of the new land.
Perlina knew she could smell the sweet grass, and that they were near their original home. Only she could tell this and the other horses knew she had wisdom in her. Estrella her dam called her, not the name the men gave her. On a terrible day, the horses were lifted from the hold and swung out in slings, then released into the sea. They were near the first island and they had to swim. Perlina swam beside her foal protecting her and encouraging her to swim. Then a shark attacked. Estrella saw the water fill with her dam's blood.
It was a time when blood was shed and the world changed for the Inca civilisation when the Spanish invaded. The Spanish were as cruel to their horses as to the people they were subjugating.
Estrella was the youngest in the group of horses, she was driven by the memory of being the bloodline of the first herd. She could smell the sweet grass. Her dam had shown her the image of the little horse. The old horse became known as Hold On, and the others changed their names to horse names too. Estrella led them north, following the north star.
Would this small herd survive?
This book is from the horse's point of view. The horrors they suffered and the changes they had to make to be free.
When the ship was running low on supplies, they gave the horses less feed and water. The horses were not a priority. The Seeker bought them with him to conquer the people of the new land.
Perlina knew she could smell the sweet grass, and that they were near their original home. Only she could tell this and the other horses knew she had wisdom in her. Estrella her dam called her, not the name the men gave her. On a terrible day, the horses were lifted from the hold and swung out in slings, then released into the sea. They were near the first island and they had to swim. Perlina swam beside her foal protecting her and encouraging her to swim. Then a shark attacked. Estrella saw the water fill with her dam's blood.
It was a time when blood was shed and the world changed for the Inca civilisation when the Spanish invaded. The Spanish were as cruel to their horses as to the people they were subjugating.
Estrella was the youngest in the group of horses, she was driven by the memory of being the bloodline of the first herd. She could smell the sweet grass. Her dam had shown her the image of the little horse. The old horse became known as Hold On, and the others changed their names to horse names too. Estrella led them north, following the north star.
Would this small herd survive?
This book is from the horse's point of view. The horrors they suffered and the changes they had to make to be free.
January 30, 2025
I read a few of the other books by this author - do not be fooled by the covers- these are not cute horse books you think they are even though they are meant for kids.
This book is about a group of horses that is on the ship but once the going gets tough and the crew runs out of food they throw the horses into the sea. Estrella is born on the ship and has never known land or how to walk on it - the book kicks off with her mother being shredded in the water- she gets killed and eaten by the shark - great start of the story! The book then finds the horses on the beach and they immidiatelly get attacked by crocodiles- so they cannot catch the break and this really sets the pace for the book going forwards.
They enter the jungle, get attacked again but manage to survive and they eventually make it ... just not to their destination just yet. There is also another pretty brutal scene - for a kids book at least- where one of the horses is really arrogant - and he dies... by being decapitated in front of the main character- which is a filly and the scene is pretty graphic for a kids book.
I didn't like how many Spanish words this book used- I love learning new languages but this one felt a bit too much like Dora the explorer in a sense that there are random spanish words thrown in alongside their explanation - and it really takes you out of the story. And I also didn't really care for all the violence because every other chapter someone dies pretty violently. This book is also heavy on spirituallity if this is your cup of tea- horses are worshipped for a while and Estrella is constantly seeing spirits guiding her towards their destination. There are other spiritual themes too - overall an okay book but a bit too heavy on death. Hopefully the next one is a bit better.
This book is about a group of horses that is on the ship but once the going gets tough and the crew runs out of food they throw the horses into the sea. Estrella is born on the ship and has never known land or how to walk on it - the book kicks off with her mother being shredded in the water- she gets killed and eaten by the shark - great start of the story! The book then finds the horses on the beach and they immidiatelly get attacked by crocodiles- so they cannot catch the break and this really sets the pace for the book going forwards.
They enter the jungle, get attacked again but manage to survive and they eventually make it ... just not to their destination just yet. There is also another pretty brutal scene - for a kids book at least- where one of the horses is really arrogant - and he dies... by being decapitated in front of the main character- which is a filly and the scene is pretty graphic for a kids book.
I didn't like how many Spanish words this book used- I love learning new languages but this one felt a bit too much like Dora the explorer in a sense that there are random spanish words thrown in alongside their explanation - and it really takes you out of the story. And I also didn't really care for all the violence because every other chapter someone dies pretty violently. This book is also heavy on spirituallity if this is your cup of tea- horses are worshipped for a while and Estrella is constantly seeing spirits guiding her towards their destination. There are other spiritual themes too - overall an okay book but a bit too heavy on death. Hopefully the next one is a bit better.
January 3, 2018
Das im Ravensburger Buchverlag erschienene Pferdebuch nimmt am Programm antolin teil.
Es hat keine klare Altersempfehlung, aber ich würde es wohl erst ab neun Jahren empfehlen, auch wenn ich weiß, dass eine Siebenjährige aus meinem Bekanntenkreis es liebt.
Kathryn Lasky schreibt aus Sicht der Pferde als auktoriale Erzählerin die Geschichte, wie Pferde in die neue Welt, also nach Amerika, kamen. Das Fohlen Estrella verfolgt die Spuren der Ahnen, da es als feinfühliges Stutfohlen immer wieder Visionen von einem winzigen Pferdchen und dem süßen Gras hat.
Es ist aber keine "Kuschelgeschichte" in dem Sinne, denn die Pferde werden zu Beginn des Abenteuers von Bord geworfen, und müssen um ihr Leben bangen. Und nicht jedes Tier, was am Anfang dabei ist, überlebt auch bis zum Ende dieses Buches. Es gibt eine Szene, die ich persönlich sehr grausam fand, die ich jetzt allerdings auch nicht spoilern möchte.
Das Buch handelt davon, seinen Weg zu finden und ihm zu folgen, und es bringt dem Leser auch die Geschichte ein wenig näher, denn spätestens in der Anmerkung der Autorin (S. 248-252) wird über die geschichtlichen Hintergründe aufgeklärt.
Ich fand den Reihenauftakt sehr spannend erzählt und wurde emotional berührt von den Widrigkeiten, die sich Estrella und anderen in den Weg stellen.
Schade finde ich, dass wieder einmal das Coverpferd nicht dem entspricht, wie die Leitstute beschrieben wird. Sie besitzt weiße statt schwarzer Socken. Solche Dinge stören mich als visuellen Menschen sehr. Auch hätte man den Titel "The Escape - Die Flucht" viel besser übernehmen können, statt die Flammenschlucht in den Fokus zu rücken. In der Tat spielt hier nämlich der geringste Teil des Buches. Schade, Ravensburger, da habt ihr den reißerischen Titel gewählt und Qualität verpasst!
Es hat keine klare Altersempfehlung, aber ich würde es wohl erst ab neun Jahren empfehlen, auch wenn ich weiß, dass eine Siebenjährige aus meinem Bekanntenkreis es liebt.
Kathryn Lasky schreibt aus Sicht der Pferde als auktoriale Erzählerin die Geschichte, wie Pferde in die neue Welt, also nach Amerika, kamen. Das Fohlen Estrella verfolgt die Spuren der Ahnen, da es als feinfühliges Stutfohlen immer wieder Visionen von einem winzigen Pferdchen und dem süßen Gras hat.
Es ist aber keine "Kuschelgeschichte" in dem Sinne, denn die Pferde werden zu Beginn des Abenteuers von Bord geworfen, und müssen um ihr Leben bangen. Und nicht jedes Tier, was am Anfang dabei ist, überlebt auch bis zum Ende dieses Buches. Es gibt eine Szene, die ich persönlich sehr grausam fand, die ich jetzt allerdings auch nicht spoilern möchte.
Das Buch handelt davon, seinen Weg zu finden und ihm zu folgen, und es bringt dem Leser auch die Geschichte ein wenig näher, denn spätestens in der Anmerkung der Autorin (S. 248-252) wird über die geschichtlichen Hintergründe aufgeklärt.
Ich fand den Reihenauftakt sehr spannend erzählt und wurde emotional berührt von den Widrigkeiten, die sich Estrella und anderen in den Weg stellen.
Schade finde ich, dass wieder einmal das Coverpferd nicht dem entspricht, wie die Leitstute beschrieben wird. Sie besitzt weiße statt schwarzer Socken. Solche Dinge stören mich als visuellen Menschen sehr. Auch hätte man den Titel "The Escape - Die Flucht" viel besser übernehmen können, statt die Flammenschlucht in den Fokus zu rücken. In der Tat spielt hier nämlich der geringste Teil des Buches. Schade, Ravensburger, da habt ihr den reißerischen Titel gewählt und Qualität verpasst!
June 4, 2021
The book Horses of the Dawn by Katheryn Lasky is a fictional book that helps us understand the abuses these animals went through coming to America. The book focuses on the horse ,Estrella, that went through this time starting as a baby, where she was born on a boat in the middle of a sea. She did not know what was going on the beginning of the book and was lost and scared within her herd, but the one thing that she knew is that she needed, and wanted to be the leader of the herd. This book is a must read.
The book shows how cruel, and selfish humans where. For example to make the weight of the ship lighter the crew men would through the oldest and weakest animals over bored. this is just one detail of this book that's made me really get into it. This book for me was the type of book you pick up and find hard to put down. Although, like very book, you have parts that make you want to stop reading because it gets boring it was still an amazing book to read. it sent chills to my body many times and told an amazing story, that sadly was very true. Even thought the book was fictional, very fictional, it used a lot of personification to bring the book to life and tell the story of this horse and her herd, and what they went though.
Again this was an absolutely amazing book that i would defenitly read again. i would recomend it to anyone, especially people who love books about horses, like me. The book was very well writen and told an amazing story.
The book shows how cruel, and selfish humans where. For example to make the weight of the ship lighter the crew men would through the oldest and weakest animals over bored. this is just one detail of this book that's made me really get into it. This book for me was the type of book you pick up and find hard to put down. Although, like very book, you have parts that make you want to stop reading because it gets boring it was still an amazing book to read. it sent chills to my body many times and told an amazing story, that sadly was very true. Even thought the book was fictional, very fictional, it used a lot of personification to bring the book to life and tell the story of this horse and her herd, and what they went though.
Again this was an absolutely amazing book that i would defenitly read again. i would recomend it to anyone, especially people who love books about horses, like me. The book was very well writen and told an amazing story.
January 18, 2023
I would recommend the book to anyone that likes animals and fantasy stories. The horses were loaded into a boat on two legs and took off into deep parts of the ocean. after a while, they realized that the boat was way too heavy and had to get rid of the horses and was left to die in the middle of the deep ocean. The horses end up living and the main Leader Ghost died and it is now up to her daughter to save them.
I think That Lasky made a story that could never happen sound like it was real. I also think that she has a unique writing style. she also has a good dictionary. she also describes the characters very well. Those are what she did well there are a couple of things that she could have done better.
I think that she could improve on the plot. at times it was confusing to follow along and it was easy to lose track of what is going on in the book. it was also difficult to know what time of day that the events are taking place. the story always had a different speed at times it was going too fast and at others, it was going too slow. those are the things that she could improve on
I think That Lasky made a story that could never happen sound like it was real. I also think that she has a unique writing style. she also has a good dictionary. she also describes the characters very well. Those are what she did well there are a couple of things that she could have done better.
I think that she could improve on the plot. at times it was confusing to follow along and it was easy to lose track of what is going on in the book. it was also difficult to know what time of day that the events are taking place. the story always had a different speed at times it was going too fast and at others, it was going too slow. those are the things that she could improve on
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 6, 2020
I just want to dispell a few things before I talk about how I felt regarding the book.
1) This book is not "anti-religion," it merely takes place in a time in history where slaughter was seen as good and godly, and it was conversion or death. That is a real time (many times!) in history, whatever your comfort level regarding it is.
2) This book is not "graphic." It states that there is blood. It states that a horse is decapitated. It states that someone tries to sacrifice a child. It states that there is a human heart on an alter. It does NOT go into grotesque detail a la a slasher film. If you are seeing these statements as "extremely graphic," I implore you to read a horror novel, or perhaps a novel that is not for children/young adults in general.
3) "This book is not for kids of this age range" is entirely up for debate. At a young age I was researching the hunting of lions, wolves, and other predators. I spent most of my time on Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel. This is unique to me, of course, but please do not assume kids don't understand some level of "animals kill, animal cruelty exists, and people can be awful." It is up to you to know your child well enough to say they are able to read something like this, or not. If your child is frightened of it/disturbed by it after grabbing it from the library, they WILL put it down.
Now, as for my ACTUAL feelings on the book:
It sucks. It's poorly written, the characters feel stiff and one-note, there are a lot of leaps in logic and outright impossible things (why can the main horse walk fine on land after spending her whole life, from birth, in a sling? No). Characters are mean for the sake of being mean, with no real motivation, and others are stupid for the sake of manufactured conflict. The only interesting character dies to a shark in the water.
I had extremely high hopes for this book, considering the things I've heard about Guardians of Ga'hool. In fact, I grabbed this and her wolf series because of all the great things I hear about it! I even watched the movie (I know, before the book, I'm sorry too) back when it came out, and was greatly saddened that it wouldn't be continued. It was fantastic! This book is either not a good representation of the author's abilities... or her abilities have been sorely overstated.
The characters feel like humans in horse skin. There's no development, and no impact when someone dies. Words are repeated beyond a mantra and into downright psychopathic territory. I struggled to finish this book in two days, when it should have taken me mere hours to read.
Don't bother reading this book. Not because of the "gore," not because of the "anti-religion," not because of the "age range" being "wrong." It's just not good.
1) This book is not "anti-religion," it merely takes place in a time in history where slaughter was seen as good and godly, and it was conversion or death. That is a real time (many times!) in history, whatever your comfort level regarding it is.
2) This book is not "graphic." It states that there is blood. It states that a horse is decapitated. It states that someone tries to sacrifice a child. It states that there is a human heart on an alter. It does NOT go into grotesque detail a la a slasher film. If you are seeing these statements as "extremely graphic," I implore you to read a horror novel, or perhaps a novel that is not for children/young adults in general.
3) "This book is not for kids of this age range" is entirely up for debate. At a young age I was researching the hunting of lions, wolves, and other predators. I spent most of my time on Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel. This is unique to me, of course, but please do not assume kids don't understand some level of "animals kill, animal cruelty exists, and people can be awful." It is up to you to know your child well enough to say they are able to read something like this, or not. If your child is frightened of it/disturbed by it after grabbing it from the library, they WILL put it down.
Now, as for my ACTUAL feelings on the book:
It sucks. It's poorly written, the characters feel stiff and one-note, there are a lot of leaps in logic and outright impossible things (why can the main horse walk fine on land after spending her whole life, from birth, in a sling? No). Characters are mean for the sake of being mean, with no real motivation, and others are stupid for the sake of manufactured conflict. The only interesting character dies to a shark in the water.
I had extremely high hopes for this book, considering the things I've heard about Guardians of Ga'hool. In fact, I grabbed this and her wolf series because of all the great things I hear about it! I even watched the movie (I know, before the book, I'm sorry too) back when it came out, and was greatly saddened that it wouldn't be continued. It was fantastic! This book is either not a good representation of the author's abilities... or her abilities have been sorely overstated.
The characters feel like humans in horse skin. There's no development, and no impact when someone dies. Words are repeated beyond a mantra and into downright psychopathic territory. I struggled to finish this book in two days, when it should have taken me mere hours to read.
Don't bother reading this book. Not because of the "gore," not because of the "anti-religion," not because of the "age range" being "wrong." It's just not good.
June 23, 2017
My second attempt at a Kathryn Lasky book after having dropped the first in the Guardians series. I thought that was extremely dull and I thought this was extremely dull, but I did manage to finish it. I'm sorry, I just don't think she knows how to write a story that stays engaging.
Also I found the writing a bit odd here. In places you could tell she was explaining things gently because it was a children's book. In others I went "Holy shit." and was glad I wasn't reading out loud to my kids. Nothing gruesome for adults but some pretty bloody death scenes for kids.
Think I've done my duty in trying again. Won't be continuing the series or reading any more by this author.
Also I found the writing a bit odd here. In places you could tell she was explaining things gently because it was a children's book. In others I went "Holy shit." and was glad I wasn't reading out loud to my kids. Nothing gruesome for adults but some pretty bloody death scenes for kids.
Think I've done my duty in trying again. Won't be continuing the series or reading any more by this author.
February 9, 2022
I honestly don’t know why I even gave this a chance after reading the hot mess that was the ‘Wolves of the Beyond’ series. The author clearly does no research before writing about animals. This, like the wolf books, is riddled with factual errors – coyotes in Europe, pumas portrayed as larger than jaguars, misinformation about horse evolution and taxonomy, etc. The story itself is dull and predictable, with the horses doing little more than wandering around in pursuit of a “spirit” only one of them can see. This is the first of a series, so I assume it is mostly a set-up for future books, but I won’t be reading them. I’ve learned my lesson and will avoid anything else by this author.
May 4, 2023
A ver... Me gustó mucho, aunque al final sí lo sentí más encaminado a un público adolescente (eso no le quita que sea entretenido)
En los últimos 4 capítulos metieron a otros personajes sólo para causar confusión y conflictos en nuestra manada principal, y para darle un final un poco más "trágico" a esta primera parte
El viaje va a continuar (al parecer) y la profecía no se resolvió 🙂
Espero en estos días ponerme con el segundo libro porque la verdad sí me quedé intrigada con ese final a pesar de todo
Es una primera parte algo introductoria, al final suceden muchas cosas pero al final tiene su encanto, la verdad
💖💖
En los últimos 4 capítulos metieron a otros personajes sólo para causar confusión y conflictos en nuestra manada principal, y para darle un final un poco más "trágico" a esta primera parte
El viaje va a continuar (al parecer) y la profecía no se resolvió 🙂
Espero en estos días ponerme con el segundo libro porque la verdad sí me quedé intrigada con ese final a pesar de todo
Es una primera parte algo introductoria, al final suceden muchas cosas pero al final tiene su encanto, la verdad
💖💖
August 3, 2021
To be honest I was not very impressed by this book. I’ve read all of the Guardians of Ga’hoole, Wolves of the Beyond and Bears of the Ice and know very well how good Kathryn Lasky’s books can be and how amazing her writing is. The book was a bit boring(in son way).
⚠️Spoiler warning for the Authors note:⚠️
I LOVED the authors note that Laksy wrote. It made the entire book so much better and worth reading, it made me understand the concept of the story, and it just made me want to read the following 2 books in Horses of the Dawn EVEN MORE!!!
⚠️Spoiler warning for the Authors note:⚠️
I LOVED the authors note that Laksy wrote. It made the entire book so much better and worth reading, it made me understand the concept of the story, and it just made me want to read the following 2 books in Horses of the Dawn EVEN MORE!!!
February 6, 2023
oh, man. this one takes me back.
I picked this book up at my school book fair in fourth grade, and let’s just say that poor sensitive 9 yo me had no idea what she was getting into. that cutesy, inane cover? played me for a fool.
ah, the memories.
*flashbacks to dismembered body parts floating in the ocean and a bloody human heart lying on a road, among other leftovers from human sacrifice*
along with a few more unnecessarily gruesome character deaths for good measure.
i kid you not, I WAS TRAUMATIZED.
How is this a kid’s book? How??!!
I picked this book up at my school book fair in fourth grade, and let’s just say that poor sensitive 9 yo me had no idea what she was getting into. that cutesy, inane cover? played me for a fool.
ah, the memories.
*flashbacks to dismembered body parts floating in the ocean and a bloody human heart lying on a road, among other leftovers from human sacrifice*
along with a few more unnecessarily gruesome character deaths for good measure.
i kid you not, I WAS TRAUMATIZED.
How is this a kid’s book? How??!!
November 17, 2017
This book puts you inside the mid of a horse. They are domesticated horse that are getting another chance at being wild. The only unbroken foal becomes the leader and they go on a huge expedition to get to there home land. This book keeps you interested the whole time as the horses learn how to band together and form a wild herd. This is a story about survival, teamwork and freedom and is definitely a book to read.
April 18, 2020
This was an okay book. I read it in a day but it was not the best. If you love horses like me you possibly could enjoy it but it gives you a whole new take on bits, bridals, spurs, and anything horse related. I will admit I cried 2 times and almost cried a 3rd time during this book. I will spoil too much if I try to write a review. Great book on the first horses in America. Good for ages 8-9+.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 128 reviews