Snow: Phantom Stallion of the Poconos

by Marsha Hubler

Bullying? Dallis Parker knows all too well what that means. Dallis doesn’t make friends easily. At the age of six, she fell off her pony and broke her leg. Now seven years later, she walks with a squeaky leg brace and struggles with rejection, particularly from Jane Dowling and Courtney Fulmer, fellow students and members of the 4-H club. But one 4-H gal, a Christian African-American girl, Sheila Elliot, befriends Dallis and invites her to go on a camping trip with a youth group to the Pocono Mountains. Dallis is less than enthused until she hears that Matthew Spencer, a handsome eighth grader is going too. And after learning about wild Mustangs in the Poconos led by a legendary white stallion named Snow, Dallis must try to see the mystery horse for herself. In a strange encounter, she does meet Snow face to face for a few fleeting moments, and her life is changed forever.

Genres: Horses

137 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 4, 2015

About the author

Marsha Hubler, author of the best-selling 8-book Keystone Stables Series from Zonderkidz, lives in central PA with her husband and two dogs. She has a master’s degree in education, over 40 years experience with children of all ages, and presently works with homeschoolers in her home office.
Her latest published books, THE TOMMI POCKETS SERIES, addresses tween issues such as divorced parents, friendships, and rejection by peers.
Visit Marsha at her website, http://www.marshahublerauthor.com
For horse lovers of all ages, she has another blog: http://www.horsefactsbymarshahubler.w...
For writers' tips, go to:
www.marshahubler.wordpress.com

Reviews

[Clare O'Beara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book for the younger YA readers focuses on a girl who, despite having fallen off a pony and injured her leg, would love a horse of her own. Luckily she lives in a part of America where families have a little land and a barn. But her parents can't risk her getting hurt again, perhaps because she is an only child. Meanwhile the other school kids often jeer at her for just keeping chickens.

I like the nicely realistic way we learn about treating an injured horse and the time and patience required. Snow, a grey stallion from the mountains, is brought in by a mustang roundup after injuring his hind leg.

Dislikes; hold on now, if this girl has a brace on her leg after six years, how come she is suddenly able to ride? Does she take off the brace for riding? How are her leg muscles strong enough and when does she put the brace back on? It just seemed to vanish and she never needed physical therapy, massage, painkillers or anything.
Also, if the other kids jeer at this girl incessantly, why doesn't she tell someone she is being bullied? Are kids supposed to suffer in silence? What is her school's policy on bullying? Even her mom doesn't seem to care when she is told. Mom just says the other girls are not good Christians and ignores it instead of telling the school or having a word with the girls' parents.
Speaking of which, I do not like the religious indoctrination. But the author is marketing herself as a Christian author and that is up to her. I would suggest a few lines or a scene set in church would be fine, not badgering someone young and impressionable to swear that they have found the light.
What is 4H? Several American authors mention this club and assume everyone knows exactly what is going on, so they don't say what it stands for, what kids are doing and why. Well, sorry, the rest of the world does not have a clue.
Did the stallion tear his extensor tendon for a second time or not? Once would be bad enough, with the expectation of a year off work instead of the few months shown here, even with the stunningly good luck of no infection. Perhaps the brevity of the remedial care was why the wound, only partly healed, opened again. If it reopened, according to the vet, the horse would be unrideable and would certainly not have won a prize weeks later.

So I like a lot about this tale, with some very nice outdoor descriptions, but I am picky. Younger readers may enjoy the book more.

I was sent an e-ARC by the author. I chose to review. This is an unbiased review.

[Deloomey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eh. It was okay. Not as horsey as I had expected--surprisingly, it focused more on Dallis's own life. The whole show thing...I thought she won it far too easily. It was like one sentence describing the things they did and then BAM! She won a blue ribbon! Amazing! Her horse is awesome!
That leads me to another thing. Snow trusted her far, far to easily for a wild horse. A normal wild horse would have fled at first sight. It was a little too...magical and quick. Also, where are Snow's flaws? Every horse has a flaw, but yet he has none except for the fact he doesn't allow anyone else to ride him. And that doesn't really count as a flaw!
Overall, I was particularly disappointed by this book. I expected something a bit more horsey, like maybe Snow had a problem where he refused to trot or something. Also I felt like they didn't explain what 'western pleasure' was quite enough. I mean, I know what it is but what if someone else reading this doesn't? Then they'd have to Google it. And what fun is having to Google something in a book? Most people like to be able to understand everything in the book easily.

I was rather disappointed in this book.

[M.J. Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a delightful story for 9 to 12 year-olds. It is a wonderful horse story with a strong Christian message. The characters are well developed and very likable. The plot, while predictable, was fun and easy to follow. An easy read that horse-lovers will enjoy.