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Horses of the Dawn #3
Wild Blood
After adopting an orphan human boy, the First Herd is finally ready to make the treacherous journey across the mountains to find the Sweet Grass that promises survival. But when their leader, Estrella, is captured by cruel men, it delivers a blow to the very heart of the herd. If the horses turn back, they'll never make it across the mountains before winter. But if they leave Estrella in captivity, the wild-born filly will surely perish.
This conclusion to Kathryn Lasky's Horses of the Dawn trilogy will make your heart beat to the rhythm of thundering hooves, leaving you breathless as you join the herd's final fight for freedom.
This conclusion to Kathryn Lasky's Horses of the Dawn trilogy will make your heart beat to the rhythm of thundering hooves, leaving you breathless as you join the herd's final fight for freedom.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published January 5, 2016
18 people are currently reading
532 people want to read
About the author
Kathryn Lasky
268 books2,289 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.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
May 5, 2020
This one was dragging. I think this series just wasn't my thing. I honestly think that the whole overall topic of the story is awesome but the way that the story is written.... I wanted to read some romance at the moment so possibly that but still. Anyways this is the last book in the series, we follow Estrella on the last leg of her trip to the sweet grass with the first herd in the new land. I didn't like this book much so I am not going to write anymore. Sorry. I think grades 3rd to 5th will enjoy this book a lot. Nothing bad in this book. Happy reading!
May 3, 2016
Pretty meh. I don't have a lot of thoughts really. This book is obviously aimed at a younger audience, so I'm sure they may enjoy it. For me there really was no emotional connection to the story or characters, but the writing is perfectly fine.
January 2, 2016
Review to come.
December 27, 2021
Well I have now finished the Horses of the Dawn trilogy and the end brought some tears to my eyes. But they were good ones...sometimes I just get a bit emotional. The trilogy maybe started off a tad rough but it ended well. I can say that I am satisfied. And I thought the author had included some nice little details at the very end too... Although I do admit I am a bit confused as to exactly where this area of the Sweet Grass actually is. I mean the book does have a map of sorts in it but it is a very loose map with just the mountain ranges on it. So I tried to compare that to an actual USA map on google (google maps) and I was left very confused ?? Isn't the area on the other side of the mountains desert? I have no idea but the book was such a good story that I got very curious! The best kind of books make you think and go look stuff up in my opinion as they inspire you and this one definitely did that.
So the story...Estrella and the herd have to evade some nasty humans who want to capture them and try to get to their Sweet Grass (while they have no idea where they are going). Many dangers lurk in their path but so do new friends who will help them. And we meet some new characters like Hope (who is a most unexpected type of friend). I do sort of feel that the human boy Tijo had a much smaller role in here than in the second book. I didn't get that same feeling of horsemanship from this one as I had from Star Rise.
All three books talk frequently about the different gaits of horses and use fancy names for them. I don't mean the natural gaits like the trot or canter but those fancy ones that humans teach them. And in the story its hard for the horses to forget those gaits. Because the book is about freedom.
And throughout the series they are guided by the original little horse, eohippus. What I do find a bit funny is the fact here eohippus is leading them to the sweet grass but eohippus never actually ate grass! There wasn't any grass yet when eohippus had lived during the eocene! Isn't that hilarious? I had remembered that fact while I was out this morning on my walk.
I guess as more time passed these horses turned into mustangs?
So the story...Estrella and the herd have to evade some nasty humans who want to capture them and try to get to their Sweet Grass (while they have no idea where they are going). Many dangers lurk in their path but so do new friends who will help them. And we meet some new characters like Hope (who is a most unexpected type of friend). I do sort of feel that the human boy Tijo had a much smaller role in here than in the second book. I didn't get that same feeling of horsemanship from this one as I had from Star Rise.
All three books talk frequently about the different gaits of horses and use fancy names for them. I don't mean the natural gaits like the trot or canter but those fancy ones that humans teach them. And in the story its hard for the horses to forget those gaits. Because the book is about freedom.
And throughout the series they are guided by the original little horse, eohippus. What I do find a bit funny is the fact here eohippus is leading them to the sweet grass but eohippus never actually ate grass! There wasn't any grass yet when eohippus had lived during the eocene! Isn't that hilarious? I had remembered that fact while I was out this morning on my walk.
I guess as more time passed these horses turned into mustangs?
June 2, 2024
dummes ende
October 31, 2020
In Wild Blood, Estrella and her herd of the first mustangs try to evade being recaptured by Iber conquistadors and reach their destination over the Rocky Mountains. The series had a lot of allusions to real-world history. One of the main themes in this book was the contrast between the spiritual worldview of a Native American tribe with the Europeans' desire for domination and control. While the delivery is rather heavy-handed, Wild Blood conveys several good messages for its audience. One scene tells us that the Ibers who generally treated the horses well still looked the other way when clear wrongdoing occurred, making an important point of how the idle compliance of 'nice people' can be just as bad as active participation in exploitation and cruelty. The time period is clear (as horses were first brought to the Virgin Islands in 1493 and then introduced to what is now Mexico and the United States in 1519). Watching these events through the eyes of the horses rather than humans makes it an interesting take on children's historical fiction. This book should appeal strongly to those who liked the movie Spirit as the overall themes are similar.
The main issue I have with these books is the blatant recycling of character archetypes and events from the author's other series, particularly Wolves of the Beyond and some of the Guardians of Ga'hoole books. The protagonist Estrella is uniquely guided by an ancestral spirit presence as she leads others of her kind to a new destination, while a former enemy dies a sacrificial death. This is the same plot as the final Wolves of the Beyond book. Angela's death (by falling in the river and the current carrying her to a female grizzly bear with cubs to feed) felt contrived and last-minute, and the way the scene was written felt like a blatant rehash of Thunderheart finding Faolan in the river. Lasky also seems to show consistent favoritism in the way certain wildlife species are depicted, as canines, bears and owls are given diverse characterizations and appear in an positive light throughout her books, while feline species like cougars are given no characterization other than dangerous predators to be killed off quickly when they do briefly appear. There's nothing wrong with an author making allusions to her other works from time to time, but when it gets to the point that I feel I've read this same story before, it dilutes the strengths in setting and characterization the book has going for it. Especially for a historical fiction trilogy that doesn't seem to be connected to the world of the Guardians and Beyond in any way.
As the final book in the series, Wild Blood had a satisfactory conclusion. Estrella proved to be a good leader to the other horses. I liked that Pego, a major secondary antagonist throughout the series, had a moment of redemption midway through the book. He went from an arrogant and slightly misogynistic stallion to a sacrificial character who gives his own life to save Estrella and a human boy, Tijo. The book ends at a natural conclusion with the horses finally arriving at their new home, while at the same time indicating that Estrella and her herd have more adventures to come. While some loose ends remained, the main arc was brought to a natural end point. Overall, Wild Blood has a decent plot, but borrows too heavily from the author's previous books for it to truly stand out.
The main issue I have with these books is the blatant recycling of character archetypes and events from the author's other series, particularly Wolves of the Beyond and some of the Guardians of Ga'hoole books. The protagonist Estrella is uniquely guided by an ancestral spirit presence as she leads others of her kind to a new destination, while a former enemy dies a sacrificial death. This is the same plot as the final Wolves of the Beyond book. Angela's death (by falling in the river and the current carrying her to a female grizzly bear with cubs to feed) felt contrived and last-minute, and the way the scene was written felt like a blatant rehash of Thunderheart finding Faolan in the river. Lasky also seems to show consistent favoritism in the way certain wildlife species are depicted, as canines, bears and owls are given diverse characterizations and appear in an positive light throughout her books, while feline species like cougars are given no characterization other than dangerous predators to be killed off quickly when they do briefly appear. There's nothing wrong with an author making allusions to her other works from time to time, but when it gets to the point that I feel I've read this same story before, it dilutes the strengths in setting and characterization the book has going for it. Especially for a historical fiction trilogy that doesn't seem to be connected to the world of the Guardians and Beyond in any way.
As the final book in the series, Wild Blood had a satisfactory conclusion. Estrella proved to be a good leader to the other horses. I liked that Pego, a major secondary antagonist throughout the series, had a moment of redemption midway through the book. He went from an arrogant and slightly misogynistic stallion to a sacrificial character who gives his own life to save Estrella and a human boy, Tijo. The book ends at a natural conclusion with the horses finally arriving at their new home, while at the same time indicating that Estrella and her herd have more adventures to come. While some loose ends remained, the main arc was brought to a natural end point. Overall, Wild Blood has a decent plot, but borrows too heavily from the author's previous books for it to truly stand out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 5, 2017
Late in the book, (p.161) there's an unexpected, pointless, and unwelcome description of Tijo having a broader back, with shoulders that have heft and muscle. Estrella (the protagonist) thinks of him as "becoming a man". Estrella also thinks that soon she won't be called a filly but a mare, and the two colts not colts but stallions. In p. 165, there's a description of one of the colts, Sky, being "almost as big as Arriero" (who is described as remarkably big and strong) and seeming "no longer a colt [to Estrella]". Yet, despite this being followed by a remark on how much Sky has grown (emotionally) an expected pointless romantic relationship between the two doesn't follow.
I don't know what to be annoyed more by: that the description exists at all, or that the description isn't followed by a romantic element to justify the scene's inclusion. (if ineptly)
The scene is comparable to one that appears very late in the book "The Dragon Prince" by Vicki Blum. In that scene (if I recall correctly) a romantic relationship between the two dragon main characters was suggested. (It came of the blue because there were no clues of romantic feelings up to that point.) I read that book long ago. It irritated me then, and the scene in Wild Blood irritates me now.
The plot is choppy at parts, and the characterization of several characters is weak. Pego sacrificing himself for the herd by taking two musket blasts is too sudden. It doesn't seem to match with his characterization, leaving me scrambling for a reason why he would do it.
Furthermore, Angela dies in page 177 of a book that's 195 pages long. That's approximately 90.7% of the way through the book. Given the generally short chapters of the book, and how few events happen in the remaining three chapters, it feels like everyone gets over her death too suddenly and her death serves no narrative purpose for the book. At the end, after finally getting to the place of sweet grass, everything feels happy and pseudo-meaningful with spirituality, and there's no mention of the sadness that Angela was never able to finish the journey with them.
P.S. On page 51, the quotation marks at the beginning of the sentence "And what's your name?" are in the wrong direction.
I don't know what to be annoyed more by: that the description exists at all, or that the description isn't followed by a romantic element to justify the scene's inclusion. (if ineptly)
The scene is comparable to one that appears very late in the book "The Dragon Prince" by Vicki Blum. In that scene (if I recall correctly) a romantic relationship between the two dragon main characters was suggested. (It came of the blue because there were no clues of romantic feelings up to that point.) I read that book long ago. It irritated me then, and the scene in Wild Blood irritates me now.
The plot is choppy at parts, and the characterization of several characters is weak. Pego sacrificing himself for the herd by taking two musket blasts is too sudden. It doesn't seem to match with his characterization, leaving me scrambling for a reason why he would do it.
Furthermore, Angela dies in page 177 of a book that's 195 pages long. That's approximately 90.7% of the way through the book. Given the generally short chapters of the book, and how few events happen in the remaining three chapters, it feels like everyone gets over her death too suddenly and her death serves no narrative purpose for the book. At the end, after finally getting to the place of sweet grass, everything feels happy and pseudo-meaningful with spirituality, and there's no mention of the sadness that Angela was never able to finish the journey with them.
P.S. On page 51, the quotation marks at the beginning of the sentence "And what's your name?" are in the wrong direction.
April 23, 2019
Star Rating: 4 stars
Note: This the 3rd and final installment in the Horses of the Dawn series so this will not be an in-depth review.
After reading a couple of mediocre books, I was filling like I might be going into a reading slump, so I decided to pick up one of my favorite authors to try and shake myself out of that mood. When I looked at my monthly TBR, I had books from 2 of my favorite authors on it, and I decided that I would read the shorter one first or Wild Blood by Kathryn Lasky. This is the concluding volume to the Horses of the Dawn trilogy, and it was a really good ending, although not the best that I read by Lasky.
I loved the themes that are in this series as Lasky explores freedom- what it means, why it is worth striving for, and what the costs may be. I loved the fact that she uses animals, in this case horses, to explore very human issues and teach some very valuable lessons. As this is middle-grade, her main audience is children, and I love that she tries to teach them life lessons in a way that makes them incredibly accessible to young people.
The one problem I had with this story was it felt like there were plot gaps in the narrative and this left me feeling like I was missing things that I should know. Also, it felt that things like the spirit lodges and dream-walking weren’t explained well so I was always slightly confused. I think this problem could have been solved by the book being longer, but it was still a good story over all. 4 stars!!!!
Note: This the 3rd and final installment in the Horses of the Dawn series so this will not be an in-depth review.
After reading a couple of mediocre books, I was filling like I might be going into a reading slump, so I decided to pick up one of my favorite authors to try and shake myself out of that mood. When I looked at my monthly TBR, I had books from 2 of my favorite authors on it, and I decided that I would read the shorter one first or Wild Blood by Kathryn Lasky. This is the concluding volume to the Horses of the Dawn trilogy, and it was a really good ending, although not the best that I read by Lasky.
I loved the themes that are in this series as Lasky explores freedom- what it means, why it is worth striving for, and what the costs may be. I loved the fact that she uses animals, in this case horses, to explore very human issues and teach some very valuable lessons. As this is middle-grade, her main audience is children, and I love that she tries to teach them life lessons in a way that makes them incredibly accessible to young people.
The one problem I had with this story was it felt like there were plot gaps in the narrative and this left me feeling like I was missing things that I should know. Also, it felt that things like the spirit lodges and dream-walking weren’t explained well so I was always slightly confused. I think this problem could have been solved by the book being longer, but it was still a good story over all. 4 stars!!!!
September 23, 2023
Estrella leads her herd in a quest to find the sweet grass of the time before. It lies beyond the Mighties a mountain range that rises up in the distance. The new young human friend, Tijo, had become important to them all.
They are moving away from the cruel Iber master, but are they moving quickly enough? The Iber master wants horses and gold. He needs both so he follows the herd as they move.
Little Coyote dreams, he knows he must help the herd, but how?
The spirit of Tijo's mother follows the herd in her host animal, a bird. She advised Estrella to split the herd to cross the Mighties. Estrella couldn't bear the thought and was consumed with the weight of decisions to be made as the herd leader.
Trouble struck when the Iber caught up with the herd. Estrella and Tijo became prisoners and were treated very badly. Little Coyote came to give them a message from Tijo's spirit mother. The other horses and mules who'd suffered at the hands of the Iber heard the message too. They were all waiting for the opportunity to escape, but how?
The horses listened to the spirit guide and a confrontation left the Iber master without his horses and riders. All the horses now sensed their freedom and could become wild and free.
The huge eagle that hosted the spirit led them all across the Mighties. They could at last taste the sweet grass sharing the vision of the ancestors of the first herd and the first people.
This is a wonderful series.
They are moving away from the cruel Iber master, but are they moving quickly enough? The Iber master wants horses and gold. He needs both so he follows the herd as they move.
Little Coyote dreams, he knows he must help the herd, but how?
The spirit of Tijo's mother follows the herd in her host animal, a bird. She advised Estrella to split the herd to cross the Mighties. Estrella couldn't bear the thought and was consumed with the weight of decisions to be made as the herd leader.
Trouble struck when the Iber caught up with the herd. Estrella and Tijo became prisoners and were treated very badly. Little Coyote came to give them a message from Tijo's spirit mother. The other horses and mules who'd suffered at the hands of the Iber heard the message too. They were all waiting for the opportunity to escape, but how?
The horses listened to the spirit guide and a confrontation left the Iber master without his horses and riders. All the horses now sensed their freedom and could become wild and free.
The huge eagle that hosted the spirit led them all across the Mighties. They could at last taste the sweet grass sharing the vision of the ancestors of the first herd and the first people.
This is a wonderful series.
June 29, 2025
This one was an okay ending to a series... but as a book not so much -it did drag a little bit compared to the other books and the ending felt rushed since the horses take ages to get to that last part of the journey only for them to reach the end really really fast. The ibers and the chieftain were the bad guys for all three books but they were defeated really fast and easily - and Pego's sacrifice just came out of nowhere and it felt so weird that he changed so completely so fast. I did like how dark and unexpected Angela's death was - but that was the only bright spot in this book. This book wrapped up the series neatly- the bad guys were defeated and the good guys won - and there were no loose ends left- it could still improve a lot of things but I think that this is the last mini series I have to read before hitting the main one - Guardians of Ga'Hoole - hopefully it's not as lackluster as some of these books were.
August 10, 2021
An epic tale of a herd of horses, some new to freedom and being wild and some not, the herd takes a journey to a place of safeness and shelter from humans, who so many times haves captured them, but luckily they escaped from them time and time again. After dodging many challenging and dangerous obstacles they go on a quest to go to this good place with good grazing and more but, when a horse gets captured will they risk saving her and possibly getting captured themselves or go on the journey without her? This book is a book you have to read.
July 14, 2023
What book doesn't tell you anywhere that it is the last installment in the series? I picked it up and checked that it wasn't a sequel or something then read the first few chapters and was so confused. I mean, I've picked up books before and started reading them before I realized that they were sequels and still understood what was happening and who the characters were. I only found out this was a trilogy when I read the comments.
Too many new characters introduced and you have no idea whether they are human, horse, dog, coyote or owl (unless it's obvious). Not very well written.
Too many new characters introduced and you have no idea whether they are human, horse, dog, coyote or owl (unless it's obvious). Not very well written.
March 25, 2023
I love this series!!!
it was happy
it was sad
IT HAD ME JUMPINIG AROUND THE ROOM!!!!
R.I.P Angela 😭😭
My heart... 💔
And also...........
HOLD ON NEVER CHANGED HIS NAME!!!!!!
like bruh.
me is for estrella and sky!!
they would be so cute together and make such ADORABLE foals!!!
If you read to the bottom of this review.....
I went out of my way and bought you a cookie 🍪
it was happy
it was sad
IT HAD ME JUMPINIG AROUND THE ROOM!!!!
R.I.P Angela 😭😭
My heart... 💔
And also...........
HOLD ON NEVER CHANGED HIS NAME!!!!!!
like bruh.
me is for estrella and sky!!
they would be so cute together and make such ADORABLE foals!!!
If you read to the bottom of this review.....
I went out of my way and bought you a cookie 🍪
January 2, 2022
Great details and the book keeps you engaged. I love how it uses animals to show what they go through every day. I love hearing the days of animals like this book shows.If you love animal books she is the author.
April 3, 2018
This is a great book to read that will focus on the harm that humans can do to nature. It can be easier for students to relate to animals when there are adults involved.
August 29, 2023
Amé el final... Fue el final perfecto para esta historia tan linda 🥺💖
January 31, 2016
It is Spring - Estrella and the first herd are desperately looking for grazing land so they can fatten up for their long trek over the “Mighties” (Rockie Mtns). Estrella believes their home lies beyond the Rockie Mountains, where the tiny horse used to roam thousands of years ago.
Tijo is traveling with the First Herd as he is no longer a part of his former clan, The Burnt River People.
The First Herd starts out with ten horses, one mule, Yazz, and Tijo.
Pego found a new home among the Burnt River Clan and his new master is the healer who is also the Chief as the previous chief has died.
El Miedo captured the people of the Burnt River Clan along with Pego and turned them into his slaves to help build his great capital city. El Miedo and his men were out hunting buffalo when their gunfire caused them to stampede. Estrella and the first herd were passing through the same plain where the buffalo were grazing and during the stampede, El Miedo, having spotted the First Herd, captured Estrella and Tijo and took them back to his camp where they were held prisoner.
Hope, First Angry’s offspring, approached the First Herd and they became friends. Originally Hope was going to go after the First Herd to avenge his father’s death but Grace, a mason bee, and Haru, in her omo owl spirit lodge, convinced Hope that he is nothing like his father and he gave up on getting revenge on the First Herd.
Haru changed her spirit lodge by moving from the omo owl into the body of Hope so she could better help Estrella and Tijo escape from the Iber’s camp. Estrella and Tijo’s first attempt to escape the Iber’s camp during an animal blessing failed.
To help Estrella and Tijo escape, Hope (and Haru in her spirit lodge) crept into the Iber’s camp unnoticed and went to see both Tijo and Estrella giving them each a piece of fool’s gold to trick El Miedo into thinking they knew where there was gold.
El Miedo and his men went looking for the gold along with Estrella and Tijo expecting them to show him where they found it. During their search for the gold, Abelinda, one of the horses who befriended Estrella while they were imprisoned in the Iber’s camp, created a distraction so Tijo could grab the knife of Abelinda’s rider and free himself and Estrella from the ropes that bound them to Iber’s moving party on their search for gold. When the other horses saw Estrella and Tijo escaping, they joined them bucking the Iber’s off their backs and running off with Estrella and Tijo to their freedom increasing the First Herd’s number to one hundred. During the escape, Pego gave his life to save Estrella and Tijo by jumping in the way of El Miedo’s musket fire. El Miedo had a musket in both hands and was heading for Estrella and Tijo but Pego sacrificed his own life for theirs getting hit with the musket fire.
The horses split up into four groups led by Estrella, Verdad, Abelinda, and Arriero to cross over the Rockies. Splitting up into smaller groups would make it easier to manage and safer as they crossed over the treacherous Rockies.
Angela had gotten a stone stuck in her hoof that Tijo was able to dislodge but not before the stone had caused damaged and her hoof worsened the further they went. A storm came up suddenly as the First Herd was crossing a river. Angela lost her footing as she was crossing the river and floated downstream away from the herd. Angela managed to swim ashore only to be eaten by a ravenous grizzly bear who was desperate to find food before hibernating for the winter.
THE ENDING
The horses finally reached their new home, “Valley of the Dawn”.
When they arrived they all saw the tiny horse approaching them with another spirit that resembled a young girl who was called First Girl. The Tiny horse represented the first horses to roam the earth and First Girl represented the humans that had roamed alongside them. Then something miraculous happened and Abelinda foaled giving birth on the soil of their new home to a filly she name Aurora (Rory).
Tijo is traveling with the First Herd as he is no longer a part of his former clan, The Burnt River People.
The First Herd starts out with ten horses, one mule, Yazz, and Tijo.
Pego found a new home among the Burnt River Clan and his new master is the healer who is also the Chief as the previous chief has died.
El Miedo captured the people of the Burnt River Clan along with Pego and turned them into his slaves to help build his great capital city. El Miedo and his men were out hunting buffalo when their gunfire caused them to stampede. Estrella and the first herd were passing through the same plain where the buffalo were grazing and during the stampede, El Miedo, having spotted the First Herd, captured Estrella and Tijo and took them back to his camp where they were held prisoner.
Hope, First Angry’s offspring, approached the First Herd and they became friends. Originally Hope was going to go after the First Herd to avenge his father’s death but Grace, a mason bee, and Haru, in her omo owl spirit lodge, convinced Hope that he is nothing like his father and he gave up on getting revenge on the First Herd.
Haru changed her spirit lodge by moving from the omo owl into the body of Hope so she could better help Estrella and Tijo escape from the Iber’s camp. Estrella and Tijo’s first attempt to escape the Iber’s camp during an animal blessing failed.
To help Estrella and Tijo escape, Hope (and Haru in her spirit lodge) crept into the Iber’s camp unnoticed and went to see both Tijo and Estrella giving them each a piece of fool’s gold to trick El Miedo into thinking they knew where there was gold.
El Miedo and his men went looking for the gold along with Estrella and Tijo expecting them to show him where they found it. During their search for the gold, Abelinda, one of the horses who befriended Estrella while they were imprisoned in the Iber’s camp, created a distraction so Tijo could grab the knife of Abelinda’s rider and free himself and Estrella from the ropes that bound them to Iber’s moving party on their search for gold. When the other horses saw Estrella and Tijo escaping, they joined them bucking the Iber’s off their backs and running off with Estrella and Tijo to their freedom increasing the First Herd’s number to one hundred. During the escape, Pego gave his life to save Estrella and Tijo by jumping in the way of El Miedo’s musket fire. El Miedo had a musket in both hands and was heading for Estrella and Tijo but Pego sacrificed his own life for theirs getting hit with the musket fire.
The horses split up into four groups led by Estrella, Verdad, Abelinda, and Arriero to cross over the Rockies. Splitting up into smaller groups would make it easier to manage and safer as they crossed over the treacherous Rockies.
Angela had gotten a stone stuck in her hoof that Tijo was able to dislodge but not before the stone had caused damaged and her hoof worsened the further they went. A storm came up suddenly as the First Herd was crossing a river. Angela lost her footing as she was crossing the river and floated downstream away from the herd. Angela managed to swim ashore only to be eaten by a ravenous grizzly bear who was desperate to find food before hibernating for the winter.
THE ENDING
The horses finally reached their new home, “Valley of the Dawn”.
When they arrived they all saw the tiny horse approaching them with another spirit that resembled a young girl who was called First Girl. The Tiny horse represented the first horses to roam the earth and First Girl represented the humans that had roamed alongside them. Then something miraculous happened and Abelinda foaled giving birth on the soil of their new home to a filly she name Aurora (Rory).
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 11, 2022
Estrella!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 11, 2016
My rating is more like a 3.5 rather than a 3.
This series had a predictable ending, but it was still enjoyable to read. I love Lasky's voices for her animals. They are very poetic and the worlds she creates are beautiful. Although this story is predictable (and very similar to that horse movie Spirit), it is still unique.
Pros of the story: It is short, so there is no real unnecessary parts. There really is no fluff; everything moves quickly. The illustrations in the story are beautiful, as always. There are many points of view, and some of the narrators are not horses. Some are humans, some are even predators. (If you are a person who gets easily confused by constant point-of-view swapping...well, you may want to sit down for this book.) There is also a good use of Spanish between the horses and humans because that's who took over the New World. And of course, the imagery of the horses is just stunning.
Now for the cons. Since this book in particular is short, things move quickly...which leaves no room for character development or much conflict. When there is a conflict (the climax of the story, in my opinion), it all happens VERY fast. And also, Lasky does a lot of telling rather than showing, which can take a lot out of the story for the reader. It would have been nice for the story to be a little longer so that not everything was so abrupt and predictable.
All in all, great story for children and animal lovers alike. If you are looking for a literary classic, then look elsewhere. It's not a perfect series, but it's enjoyable.
This series had a predictable ending, but it was still enjoyable to read. I love Lasky's voices for her animals. They are very poetic and the worlds she creates are beautiful. Although this story is predictable (and very similar to that horse movie Spirit), it is still unique.
Pros of the story: It is short, so there is no real unnecessary parts. There really is no fluff; everything moves quickly. The illustrations in the story are beautiful, as always. There are many points of view, and some of the narrators are not horses. Some are humans, some are even predators. (If you are a person who gets easily confused by constant point-of-view swapping...well, you may want to sit down for this book.) There is also a good use of Spanish between the horses and humans because that's who took over the New World. And of course, the imagery of the horses is just stunning.
Now for the cons. Since this book in particular is short, things move quickly...which leaves no room for character development or much conflict. When there is a conflict (the climax of the story, in my opinion), it all happens VERY fast. And also, Lasky does a lot of telling rather than showing, which can take a lot out of the story for the reader. It would have been nice for the story to be a little longer so that not everything was so abrupt and predictable.
All in all, great story for children and animal lovers alike. If you are looking for a literary classic, then look elsewhere. It's not a perfect series, but it's enjoyable.
August 6, 2016
In this triumphant conclusion to the Horses of the New Dawn trilogy, the First Herd is heading toward the mountains and the sweet grass and freedom that will be theirs once they cross the peaks. But El Miedo is determined to find gold and add to his horse herd, and he wants Estrella's band of horses. Through trickery, she and Tijo are captured, and things look quite hopeless. But the horses have the mules of El Miedo and some of the horses on their side as well as the spiritual guidance of Haru and that small horse that leads Estrella on. This fast-paced action story is filled with characters that readers will love and some they will hate, and to their surprise, sometimes even the most selfish of creatures can rise to greatness through self-sacrifice. Those horses has a lot of challenges to face, but they also had a lot of unexpected allies. As they moved over those mountains, I felt as though I were trying to follow in their wake with my heart swelling in pride at how far each of them had come. This book has losses, and when they come, readers will understand the ways of nature, but still mourn the lost ones.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 28, 2023
Als letztes Buch der Triologie ist es leider nicht so gut wie die ersten beiden, da viele Ideen schon verbraucht waren und es somit zu vielen Dopplungen kam, die das Lesen erschwert haben. Desweiteren muss ich hier als Kritikpunkte noch anführen, dass viele Dinge sehr abgehackt erzählt wurden, als wolle die Autorin schnell zu einem Ende kommen und dementsprechend viele eigene Begriffe nicht richtig erklärt wurden (eigentlich denkt sich die Autorin immer wieder nette Begriffe aus, die aus Sicht der Tiere umgangssprachlich sind, was den Büchern eine sehr nette und persönliche Note verleiht ;D).
Positiv wiederrum ist aber, dass hier nochmal thematisiert wird, dass die Welt nicht nur schwarz und weiß ist, das Verhältnis von Gut und Böse wird also verschoben und frischt das Buch dahingehend ein wenig auf. Doch auch hier fehlen Erklärungen, warum so gehandelt wurde, wie gehandelt wurde, sodass der Leser da eine Menge reininterpretieren muss.
Positiv wiederrum ist aber, dass hier nochmal thematisiert wird, dass die Welt nicht nur schwarz und weiß ist, das Verhältnis von Gut und Böse wird also verschoben und frischt das Buch dahingehend ein wenig auf. Doch auch hier fehlen Erklärungen, warum so gehandelt wurde, wie gehandelt wurde, sodass der Leser da eine Menge reininterpretieren muss.
March 22, 2020
I was very disappointed in the finale book of the series. There were so many events I wish the author went more in-depth to. I will never understand when the author go's on and on about long spirits and spirit weavers and bla bla bla it made no sense. I felt like the same things were repeated over and over and to many times the point of view changed from character to character. And don't even get me stated on Angelas death that was so unnecessary and making it look like it was for a good cause was stupid. There was a lot of things I didn't like about this book but it was still ok I guess.
January 17, 2016
This final book in the Horses of the Dawn trilogy wraps up the story lines of the first two. It is somewhat confusing because of the sheer amount of loose ends that needed to be tied up, but fans of the series will want to know what becomes of Estrella, Hold On, and the rest of the First Herd. Grades 4 and up.
September 4, 2023
Actual rate star: 3.5 or 4
April 9, 2017
So I love how she rights and I also love how I can connect with the caricters in all her books. I was relly sad when I finished it because I love hourses and all animals. I am curintly reading wolves of the beyond and I LOVE it. I started on the gardions of ghoul, but it was relly super bouring so I stoped.
I have bean sort of hard on other books that I read so me giving 5 stars to olmost all her books is relly good.
I have bean sort of hard on other books that I read so me giving 5 stars to olmost all her books is relly good.
November 27, 2017
just like Star Wolf, Wild Blood is one of the most amazing books i've ever read. it's full of mystery, grace, and beauty, and will leave you awe-struck.
Read
February 2, 2018This book is very good and it is in are library in school.
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