Venom

by Nikki Tate

Sixteen-year-old Spencer loves his job at the local racing stable, but when he becomes convinced that someone is drugging the racehorse Lord of the Flies, no one believes him. In an effort to find out who is behind a dangerous race-fixing scheme, he takes on some of the most unsavory members of the track community. By refusing to turn a blind eye, Spencer risks losing those he cares most about, including Em, the stableowner's niece.

Genres: Realistic Fiction, Horses

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Nikki Tate was born in Birmingham, England, but spent her childhood roaming the globe. In Australia, Nikki battled a tarantula, in Banff she was chased by a mother black bear, and in Ontario she wrestled with a Canada goose.

Despite the fact that she has been kicked, bitten, stung, pecked, and sprayed, she has never been able to resist injured, lost, or lonely-looking animals. Over the years, her menagerie has included horses, dogs, cats, birds, snakes, squirrels, rabbits, rats, gerbils, spiders, crayfish, hamsters, and a pond full of koi fish. These critters and their antics often find their way into her stories. Not surprisingly, Nikki's favourite book when she was little was Black Beauty, though she also loved The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and The Hobbit.

Nikki has always enjoyed writing stories and still has the notebooks she used when she was eight years old. She made up stories about animals, plane crashes, outhouses, and Doctor Dolittle's travels in outer space.

A born ham, Nikki danced, acted, and modeled her way through her younger years. She still loves to perform, most often as a storyteller. She also enjoys camping, kayaking, horseback riding, travel, and building big things with sticks and string. Nikki lives on a tiny farm on Vancouver Island in British Columbia with a collection of furred, feathered, and finned creatures.

Reviews

[Brooklyn Brennan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I’ve been reading is called Venom by Nikki Tate. Venom is from the Orca Sports Collection. This book takes place at a local racing stable with a seventeen-year-old boy named Spencer. He’s sure that someone is drugging the horses to win the races. No one believes him and he’s in jeopardy of losing his friends and job because of it.
I really like how this book is all about saving animals. Even if nothing’s happening to the horses it’s still heart warming to know someone cares and is willing to fight for them. I think this is a wonderful book to read because there’s a lot of action and drama. If you like animals or drama, this is definitely a book for you. I would give this book five stars because it keeps your attention the whole way through. This book is easy to read and and is a stress remover, if you have nothing to do pick up this book and read it.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spencer loves horses and works at a local horse stable close to his house. But one day when he sees his boss sticking something that looks suspiciously like a needle into his pocket he is convinced that the horse inside, Lord of the Flies, is being drugged. When he tries to tell no one believes him but Spencer is determined to find out if Lord of the Flies is really being drugged.
I picked this book up because it looked interesting and most Orca sport books are really good so I had an idea that this book is good too.
I finished this book because it's really good and I wanted to find out who was drugging the horse.
I would recommend this book to Jamie because she really likes to read books about horses and this book is all about horses.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This so-so book from the large Orca Sport series will keep reluctant readers reading but will bore the avid reader with its simple plot. Spencer is a typical sixteen year old boy who doesn’t want to go to school, fights with his mom and has a crush on a cute girl. What is unique about Spencer is that he spends his free time working at the local horse track prepping horses for races and tending the stable. While at his job one day, Spencer witnesses another co-worker coming out of a horse stall with a needle. Spencer suspects that the co-worker might have injected a lame horse with drugs, but isn’t sure if he should talk to his grumpy boss about it and risk losing his job. The story is suspenseful enough that young readers will be sucked in, but the lack of depth and character development will cause some higher level readers to lose interest. The side story of Spencer’s family problems including a dead father and an alcoholic mother add some dimension to the book and help to explain some of Spencer’s behaviors and attitudes. I would recommend this book to male reluctant readers who are looking for a character they can relate to and a quick easy read with a decent story line.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book about life on the backside of a horse racetrack. Not a lot of books for kids are written with this setting, and this one is filled with details not only about racing, but exercising horses and their care at the track. 16-year-old Spence is a great character - as he tries to figure out who is drugging horses, deal with his feelings for Em, the girl he works with, and keep his mom off his back. I don't think the cover does the book justice, but horse lovers and horse racing fans alike will love this one.

[Ryoha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a guy named Spencer and him working at the tracks. Spencer's mom is crazy because her husband died at the tracks, he got kicked in the head by a horse. Spencer's main problem is that his suspicion about Tony and Scampy drugging the horse Lordy. Spencer only cares about the horses. This book was really good I suggest that who ever's reading this reads Venom.

[BCPL Youth Services Librarian]

Click to see book in BCPL's online catalog

[Helen Southall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, easy to read book aimed at the teen crowd. The setting around life behind the horse racing business was interesting and surprisingly informative.