Trickster

Vet Volunteers #3

by Laurie Halse Anderson

When he and the other volunteers at Dr. Mac's veterinary clinic go to help out at Quinn's Stables, David makes several serious mistakes and must prove he can be trusted before Mr. Quinn will let him even be around the spirited horse that David wants to ride.When he and the other volunteers at Dr. Mac's veterinary clinic go to help out at Quinn's Stables, David makes several serious mistakes and must prove he can be trusted before Mr. Quinn will let him even be around the spirited horse that David wants to ride.

Genres: Animals, Middle Grade, Childrens, Horses, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Chapter Books

124 pages, Library Binding

First published January 22, 2000

About the author

UPDATE! Rebellion 1776 is out! The New York Times wrote, "Filled with immersive detail, expert delineations of complex characters, and both harsh and loving reality, Rebellion 1776 provides young readers with a true experience of a historic moment in time that resonates with today's world." Huzzah!

Laurie Halse Anderson is the New York Times-bestselling author of many award-winning books including the groundbreaking, modern classic Speak, a National Book Award finalist which has sold over 3.5 million copies and been translated into 35 languages.

In 2023, Anderson was named the Laureate of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award, long considered to be the de facto 'Nobel Prize for Children's Literature.'

A passionate spokesperson for the need to combat censorship, she has been honored for her battles for intellectual freedom by the National Coalition Against Censorship and the National Council of Teachers of English. She lives near Philadelphia. Go Birds!

Follow Laurie on Bluesky at @halseanderson.bsky.social, Instagram at halseanderson, and Facebook at lauriehalseanderson, or by visiting her website, madwomanintheforest.com.

Reviews

[Books Kids Like · Rating 4 out of 5]

David is quite excited about going to Quinn Stables to help muck out stalls and exercise old horses. He already has a poor reputation at the stables because of an incident the year before when he got lost during a group ride and ended up at the mall. He hopes he can prove that he’s more responsible now. When Mr. Quinn’s new horse, Trickster, gets injured in a car accident, David has an opportunity to help with the horse’s recovery. Trickster and David have a natural connection, and David hopes that Mr. Quinn will let him ride the horse one day. But, David’s penchant for cutting corners on chores gets him banned from the stable. Then, a deadly disease strikes, and Mr. Quinn needs David’s help to save Trickster.
©2024 Kathy Maxwell at https://bookskidslike.com

[Gene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find it weird that most of the reviews talk about this being a pleasant tale about responsibility for kids, because it was one of the most emotionally devastating books I read in my entire childhood. Like, I read Speak too, and as far as I'm concerned, Trickster is on about the same level in terms of emotional effect, though certainly not in terms of seriousness/relevance of subject matter. I reread it when I was older too, and it was just the same. It's Laurie Halse Anderson's writing that does it. David does learn a lesson about responsibility in the book, but it's through trial by fire in an epidemic of sorts (trying to avoid spoilers, though in the next paragraph, I won't--stop here if necessary).

I still think about this book sometimes, like when I started riding at the place I go now and was introduced to the trainer's prized horse, who is the darling of the whole barn. There was all this hype around him, and I went and looked in his eyes and thought, "this one feels marked for death, just like Starfire". I don't want anything to happen to him (obviously--that's the point), but it's like a premonition. There's just something about him that makes it chillingly easy to imagine his body hitting the ground, exactly like in this book.

Anyway, if you're planning on getting this for your niece or something, keep in mind the impact it still has on the psyche of me, a 25-year-old woman. I mean, if the kid hates horses, go for it, but otherwise be careful.

[Mai · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5 / 5 ⭐️
"Some things are not said in words."
Great story with the horses, but David is definitely not one of my favorite characters, haha 😃
my comfort books series 🥹📚❤️‍🩹
Ps : I didn't remember that a lot of animals were dy!ng in these books, so I'm gonna cry a lot, I guess 😭🥲

[Rena Sherwood]

I took this book out of the library before my 15-year old beloved dog died. Days after her death, I'd thought I would try and read something horsey and silly to get my mind off -- well, you know.

Big mistake.

This WAS an amazingly silly book based on a premise that would never happen (kids being allowed to volunteer at a vet practice) in a real town I've driven through once or twice, Ambler (where if you don't make at least six figures a year, don't bother asking anyone where shit is.)

And then the horses suddenly started dropping dead.

Yes, I know they were fictional horses and didn't really live (and so never really died) but I really did not need to read that. Also, it was such a jarring change after total goofiness earlier in the book, so I gave up.

No stars for this crap.

[Itzae · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vet Volunteer-Trickster by Laurie Halse Anderson is realistic fiction. I think children and adults should read this book. I think they should read this book because it helped me understand to try doing something good to fix that mistake. This book is about a boy that had to prove to others that he was good enough to not do that mistake again. I think it was an amaizing book because I like books that have something to do with animals and solving problems. I think evey adult and children should read this book if they books that include animals and solving problems. Vet Volunteers has a lot more books from series 1 to 17. This book has 127 pages and includes two chapters of the next Vet Volunteers series.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

My daughter is reading this series and wants me to read along with her. I thought this was a good book, but just a bit missing from the storyline for children. As of it being titled vet volunteers, it follows the vet part pretty well.

[Kaley Catron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sometimes going through your childhood book series all over again is worth it. I almost feel like this one was so much shorter than the others but I loved it all the same. I can’t wait for Naomi to read these books because she’s going to LOVE them.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love these books. I love the mix of human issues and animal issues. This one centers around horses and I loved learning more about them.

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Seven year old daughter liked it (I read it aloud) and enjoys learning about different animals through this series.

[Teresa Khranovska · Rating 5 out of 5]

Laurie Halse Anderson wrote this book. This book is about a horse Trickster. A stable owner was getting his new horse (Trickster) from his stables to his stables.On the way to the stables the car got into a catstrophy. The owner rode back to the stables as fast and as carefuly as he could. At the stables he called a animal doctor to help him with the horse.When the doctor arrived she and the wner opened the doors of the trailer carefuly. They opened the door in the field so the horse won't get injured because of his fears of the catastrophy or the trailer ride. The doctor's helpers were very excted to ride horses. One of the vet volunteers knew a ot about horse he realy wanted to ride Trickster. The boy's name was David.David asked the stable owner to ride Trickster. The stable owner said that he will be able to ride Trickster only after he will repair from his injury, and Davis was supposted to help the owner get Trickster in a better form.The rest of this book is mainly about Trickster and David and David helping Trickster to recover from his injury. I think this book will be great for children who loves animals or horses. This book may also help them to understand that animals have feelings too and needed to care about. They will also that they need to be careful with them.

[Viviennegloria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vet Volunteer: Trickster
Laurie Halse Anderson

Trickster is a chestnut horse. He hurt his leg in a car accident. David is a vet volunteer. The story takes place at Quinn Stables. It has lots of horses. Brenna has her horse out, she gets him walking, and David pats his bottom. Brenna’s horse starts galloping away into the woods and she can’t stop him and Trickster thinks it’s a game or a race or something so he runs after him, with his hurts leg, and he reinjuries it. And finally they get the horse to stop but the owner is pretty mad because David put Brenna in danger and he also hurt Trickster’s leg. Later in the story, the owner’s favorite horse, Starfire, dies. Trickster liked and understood David, a vet volunteer.

I suggest it to anyone who likes friendly chestnuts.

[Tammy Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

David is a great kid who can’t seem to do anything right. He loves to cut corners. David volunteers with Dr. Mac. David had an experience at Mr. Quinn’s ranch last year that made it so he couldn’t be around horses. In this book, he has a chance to redeem himself. He finds challenges along the way. His love for a new horse named Trickster gives him incentive but, even so still seems to come up short.

This book has so much substances to it. My heart aches with the boy as he experiences some of the hard knocks of life. I feel like I learn as he learns lessons about not cutting corners. I also learned much more about horses. It teaches hard work. It is also a book of mercy. I really liked this kid. Great character development with all the characters. It’s a winner.

[10-11 kacie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was about 5 young boys and girls working at the pet clinct. mr.Quinn the horse owner was on his way over to the clinct when his truck and the horses trailer was hit. he wanted to go home but instead he took the horse to the clinct. dr.mac cheak him out and he only had a little scrap on his leg. it wasnt broken or anything so they took him back to his home town and david one of the workers became really close to him and ended up adopting him. they became very good friends and they also started training to race in a compation.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Responsibility

Learning responsibility can be hard and frustrating. David wanted to take shortcuts when doing his after school chores and odd jobs. These shortcuts almost cost him what he wanted to do most. However the adults in this story were quick to see the wrong being done instead of listening and reasoning with the young. Eventually the adults listened with their heart and saw the good with their eyes. God wants us to look for the good and with a loving heart we can change the wrong.

[Amandal · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was great especially for people who likes horses it covers a lot of things you should know if you want to ride horses. I learned a lot of good things for me because i want to be a vet. I rate this book four stars because there where some parts that could have been a little more dramatic like the other books.

[Kelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story, good moral lesson, taking care of horses. My six and four year old kids loved it! Took us two nights of bed time stories to read, so it was a pretty short easy read, but pleasant for me to read too. It's always nice to find one we all like and this one is a series so we're guaranteed several more we all like!

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned that sometimes horses can be really brave with someone and they can survive with someone they really love. I think this book was super duper good because I love horses and it's just that it was really good.

[Lori · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is so cute. It is also pretty timeless. I have been getting the series for our granddaughters, but as it turns out, I am really enjoying reading them also. They are quick, light hearted and they all have a nice lesson to learn.

[American Wolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book it is a good book for like 3rd grade and up
This book is about David the main character to learn about more than how to ride horses. Get the book if you want to find out what he learns more

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This boy named David & his friends go to a farm where you can ride horses. But when he does something wrong will he ever help his favorite animal again? Read this book to find out.

[10-11 Bryanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

i loved the setting

[Kennedi Jenosn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very tirific. Trickster is a book that you should read.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

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

[Rivkah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved it and hated it at the same time!

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is boring until you get half way through the book. But it is a great book. I love the vet volunteers series. I hate cats but the books about cats are really good.

[Maddie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought it was a great book that showed how much David loves horses. Also it teaches you to do things the right way and not take the easy way out

[Critter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was quick and fun to read. It was really good.

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Third entry in the series which will be enjoyed by animal loving young readers.
Anderson is quite a good author, and writes for her intended audience well.

[sacha]

#nostalgie

[Violet]

this was a sad little trainwreck