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Twelve-year-old Winnie Willis has a way with horses. Along with her dad and sister, Lizzy, Winnie is learning how to live without her mom―who was also a natural horse gentler. As Winnie teaches her horses about unconditional love and blind trust, God shows Winnie that he can be trusted as well. Readers will be hooked on the series' vivid characters, whose quirky personalities fill Winnie's life with friendship and adventure.

In Unhappy Appy, Winnie misses her mom more than ever, and her dad has invited some new woman for Thanksgiving dinner. More than ever, Winnie needs God to open her eyes to see his hand at work.

192 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 13, 2003

31 people are currently reading
243 people want to read

About the author

Dandi Daley Mackall

352 books299 followers
A professional writer for over 20 years, Dandi Daley Mackall has written dozens of articles for popular magazines and published around 500 books for children and adults alike, with sales of over 4 million.

A frequent guest on radio and television talk shows, she lives in rural Ohio with her husband, three children, horses, dogs, & cats. Awards include the Edgar Award for Best YA Mystery, the Helen Keating Ott Award for Contributions to Children's Literature; Distinguished Alumni Award from Mizzou; ALA Best Book; Christian Children's Book of the Year, Amelia Bloom, Mom's Choice Awards. Her YA novel, My Boyfriends' Dogs, is now a Hallmark movie.

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5 stars
253 (52%)
4 stars
130 (26%)
3 stars
78 (16%)
2 stars
13 (2%)
1 star
8 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
Profile Image for Rebekah.
44 reviews
June 15, 2021
Masons so cute!😙
I want a horrrrrse.🥺🥺🥺🥺
Profile Image for Emory Ivie.
Author 4 books4 followers
September 20, 2021
Winifred Willis is a young teen, and she has a gift - she can communicate with horses. After her mom passed away, Winnie uses everything she learned to help horses in need, and not by breaking them - but by gentling them. In this exciting, 8-book series, Winnie gets to help all kinds of different horses with all kinds of different problems, and through her struggle to make friends and convincing her dad not to move again, she will finally discover her true place in this world.

I loved this Christian-based series. Through the author's descriptive writing, she places you right in Winnie's shoes. This page-turner is perfect for girls ages 9 to 13, and not only is the storyline entertaining, but Mackall teaches the reader all about horses and good training techniques. Learn how to communicate with your own horse (or a neighboring farm's horse if you don't have one) in this great read!
Profile Image for Bcs (Sarah. B).
223 reviews8 followers
September 14, 2024
Three point five stars

Note: My rating of this book has to do with the fact that I read it so fast, it was late, Winnie anoyed me to no end (even though she was having normal struggles I just wanted to keep telling her to smarten up...) and also the fact that I was seriously wanting to read the next book in the series (my favorite)

Quick Overview:

Prophanity/Language: None

Romance/Sex: None

Faith: Very strong

Adventure: Very low

Other: None.

This is a perfect book for middle grade readers.
Profile Image for Becca Avila.
29 reviews6 followers
September 21, 2022
I have read all 8 Winnie books and think that they a great.

This one was interesting, it felt like Towaco knew something was bothering Hawk (Victoria). In the end of the series Winnie ends up like Madeline.

I love the idea of the help pet line, I wish there was one. If you do know of one please contact me. If there isn’t one I might just make one myself. I’ll post on my profile on Goodreads if I do end up making a help pet line.

-Becca (ba758369@gmail.com)
1,355 reviews
June 28, 2020
See the first book in the series for a full review.
114 reviews4 followers
September 3, 2011
I really enjoyed these books when I was younger, and when I went back and re-read them, enjoyed them just as much. I appreciate how much Winnie grows in each book, yet that no one grows too unbelievably much.

Thank you Dandi Daley Mackall for eight great books!
Profile Image for Sarah.
20 reviews
August 21, 2010
The best series/book i ever read. A series that you want to read over and over again.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews

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