Whirlaway: a Short Story

Stay the Distance #0.5

by Mara Dabrishus

July is a horse girl. It's what her mother always told her when nothing else seemed to fit. But July's mom left her with the horses four years ago to chase a dream, and she hasn't come back...until now.

Winner of the Thoroughbred Times Fiction Contest in 2010, Whirlaway is the short story prequel to Stay the Distance.

Genres: Horses

23 pages, ebook

First published March 13, 2010

About the author

Mara Dabrishus is an author and librarian at a small college in Northeast Ohio. Horse racing is her first great love, but for the past several years she's ridden dressage, learning how to spiral in, half halt, and perform the perfect figure eight. For more information, please visit www.maradabrishusbooks.com.

Reviews

[TL *Humaning the Best She Can* · Rating 3 out of 5]

Memories fade. That was what July told herself when she smoothed her young fingers over the scrapbook, running her blunt nails over the edges of the handled photographs, the newspaper clippings, the win tickets her father never cashed. They were little pieces of proof to a life she wasn't living, but she supposed it was as close as she was going to get.

July was a horse girl. It was what her mother always told her when nothing else seemed to fit. School, friends, learning the basics of team sports, the nuances of instruments and arts— or anything in which those her age seemed to excel— never seemed to measure up to the simple fact that she was a horse girl.

Really short but good story.. it's a small glimpse into the world of July. I liked Joy but never felt fully connected to her in the sense of she seemed to be keeping the reader at arm's length herself. (I haven't read the novel as of yet so I could be wrong, that just was my observation).

It has me intrigued enough to check out the novel, so hopefully that'll happen soon:)

[Laurence R. · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an incredibly short story, but I liked being in that world again and seeing July a little bit more. I felt very compassionate towards her, because her situation is awful, especially in this short story, but I liked her determination. She's an awesome character and I love reading about her (and horses, let's be real). I'd recommend it to everyone who read the entire story, and I'd recommend Stay the Distance to everyone who hasn't read it yet (come on! It's awesome).

[Aoife · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

A nice look at an event that happened before Stay the Distance when July is faced with seeing her mother for the first time in almost four years and then has to deal with her emotions when her mother makes no attempt to seek her out. I think I would have liked a bit more maybe, or even a tad bit more emotion on July's part but for the most part I enjoyed it, and July's interactions with both her father and co-workers like Pilar and Jorge.

[C.P. Cabaniss · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a nice little short story that described beautifully an event that played a role in Stay the Distance. It was nice to be in July's head again and to see the familiar characters. Also getting and glimpse of Lighter and his troublemaking self was a nice reminder of the novel. Her mom is seriously frustrating but I love July. Perfect. Now I need to reread the novel. :)

[Michelle D. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short story was a little bit of an understatement. I was a little disappointed with how short this was

[Christine Meunier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whirlaway is a short story that introduces the characters that are found in the horse racing novel Stay the Distance. Two girls raised by their father whilst their mother is chasing the dream of becoming a top jockey make up the main characters of Whirlaway and Stay the Distance.

Mara Dabrishus obviously has a passion for horses and knows the racing industry. Her main character, July Carter is hurt by her mother’s abandonment. She can’t understand how horses could be put before family – as much as she loves them herself.

More at http://equus-blog.com/whirlaway-novel...

[Bunnita (Worth Reading It?) · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very short story about a girl named July. I haven't read any other equestrian focus novels so this was a toe in the pool so to speak. This story did what it was supposed to do as I am interested in reading more. In particular, I am interested in Juily's mother and why she did what she did. Since this is a short I can't really say too much more without giving the story away.

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great but short story that is a prequel to Stay The Distance. It fleshes out one of the stories that are a part of that book. If you loved Stay The Distance then you will love this.