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The Horsegirl #1
The Horse Girl
This is a fabulous tale about a girl rejects her heritage and upbringing to do what she has always wanted and dreamed of doing, being with horses. After going to learn of horses she grows up and comes into her identity.
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First published October 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
September 15, 2019
What starts out as a coming of age story, quickly devolves into a grim tale of conquest, told from the point of view of the oppressors. This is the first of a trilogy, which gradually covers topics like rape, incest, murder, and religious persecution. We are shown the dark views of both sides in a long war, with the heroine, Glennys, caught between two worlds that both seek to own her, body and soul.
When I first read this book as a teen, I was swept into Glennys' narrative. I wanted her to achieve her goals, and I rooted for her. As an adult re-reading it, I find myself more drawn to the side characters who provide the rich history and exposition of the story. We are shown that many of their stories parallel that of Glennys', and gain a new appreciation for her ability to lift herself out of the path given to her, and to forge her own way, while still recognizing that her disregard for their advice is futile.
I also love the nostalgia that clouds the story. At every turn, we are told that the old ways were best, and that innovation is for weaker men, but we can see the signs that the old ways are dying, and the men who hold to them will be soon made obsolete. There is a feeling that we have entered the story after the golden age has ended, and we are merely here to watch its ending. The reader is left longing to hear more about the rich traditions and stories of the past.
I also like the no-nonsense approach to homosexuality in the books. In the forefront, we see a relationship develop between Glennys and Thurlow that is overwhelmingly sexual in nature. We are also given signs that Glennys' mother may have had a similar relationship with Thurlow's mother. We are also treated to other more subliminal stories; The Old Men in the Badlands are a more obvious example, but Hengst and Wildan also come to mind. None of these couplings are viewed as distasteful for reasons of gender. Indeed, there is no judgement placed one way or the other (unless we count the Lighters, but we are told consistently that their opinions don't matter). Similarly, these narratives don't serve as the only facet of the characters. The relationships simply exist, and we are not told how to feel about it. Groundbreaking.
When I first read this book as a teen, I was swept into Glennys' narrative. I wanted her to achieve her goals, and I rooted for her. As an adult re-reading it, I find myself more drawn to the side characters who provide the rich history and exposition of the story. We are shown that many of their stories parallel that of Glennys', and gain a new appreciation for her ability to lift herself out of the path given to her, and to forge her own way, while still recognizing that her disregard for their advice is futile.
I also love the nostalgia that clouds the story. At every turn, we are told that the old ways were best, and that innovation is for weaker men, but we can see the signs that the old ways are dying, and the men who hold to them will be soon made obsolete. There is a feeling that we have entered the story after the golden age has ended, and we are merely here to watch its ending. The reader is left longing to hear more about the rich traditions and stories of the past.
I also like the no-nonsense approach to homosexuality in the books. In the forefront, we see a relationship develop between Glennys and Thurlow that is overwhelmingly sexual in nature. We are also given signs that Glennys' mother may have had a similar relationship with Thurlow's mother. We are also treated to other more subliminal stories; The Old Men in the Badlands are a more obvious example, but Hengst and Wildan also come to mind. None of these couplings are viewed as distasteful for reasons of gender. Indeed, there is no judgement placed one way or the other (unless we count the Lighters, but we are told consistently that their opinions don't matter). Similarly, these narratives don't serve as the only facet of the characters. The relationships simply exist, and we are not told how to feel about it. Groundbreaking.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 23, 2017
This was more a 4.5 star book for me. It was interesting enough to get me to stop netflix binge watching and actually read some everyday till I finished it; so it was fairly interesting. I did like the book as I read it, most of the time I was great with the way the main character thought even when I thought she was a little dense about a few things but they were understandable due to her age and experience, but near the end she changes from using common sense and thinking logically to behaving like a raging emotional hysterical stupid woman that made me wonder what happened to the likeable main character that was in most of the book (over 3/4 of it), near to the very end she changes back to the rational thinking character I liked and so redeemed it somewhat.
It had a few topics in it that could be surprising for some (hard to tell what they are without spoiling, so here comes the spoilers...but yes it would still be worth reading since I know my spoilers can't ruin a good read): super religious people against a ruling class they see as heathens, main character was brought up religious but she rebels after being treated badly and seeing how silly much of it is (though the power of the religion was shown like it was real to the true believers, or those not with foreign tainted blood), horse telepathy but with only war horses and some hot blooded racing horses, realities of war ... even when just small local rebellion, injured horses that needed finishing off to end suffering, breeding bloodlines in horses and same with human aristocracy, girl growing from a small starving child to a young adult blossomed female, hypnosis, visions of the future, ancient myths or stories, king's daughters--term for whores or any females in theater/dance/not noble born, learning a skill and becoming a master at it--horse trainer with highest level proficiency of war horse trainer, love, sex, voyeurism, secrets, betrayal, revenge, death, half-siblings, friendships, best friends outgrowing each other, some girl-lesbian exploration/experimentation, some people with extra long lifespans, tutors/teachers and harsh realities of trying to educate in bad locations/brainwashed religious rural places, epidemic illness, journey over land in harsh conditions, child abuse and rescue, gunpowder, cannons, battlefield tactics change and so too does the whole horse economy, and a huge big secret thing that would spoil the book so I won't say it here... but it's huge and my only warning is it's not a normal thing and the awfulness of it is shown for all....it is what changes things drastically for our main character and will be the reason things are different for her in the second book.
The book is told mostly through the eyes of Glennys and some through the eyes of other characters in the book (mostly briefly and just so we understand what is fully going on at times when Glennys herself may not even know--hypnosis scene especially). Glennys is raised in a backwater super religious society, where it's ok to beat wives and daughters just because no son was born and survived, where knowledge is only important if its on their religion, where people refuse to use/ride horses because they believe them to be the devil and they believe their god will one day help them kill all the horse riding people who had beaten them and taken over their country centuries ago. Glennys however loves the idea of horses, daydreams about them, dreams about them, and finally gets her chance to meet one, touch it, and then to go learn how to train them...then discovers she has a special gift of horse telepathy where she can make hot blooded horses do her bidding without making a sound. She is not just a war horse apprentice, she is also lady-in-waiting to the female teen daughter of the governing lord of the land, and friends with the second son and younger brother to the female teen. She is educated by the tutors of the lords kids when she has down time from horses/stables....which includes both dance, manners/etiquette, and swords and knife throwing and sorta circus horse riding tricks. Glennys puts her all into learning everything she can about horses in the 5 years she is an apprentice, and becomes very good at it. By the time she is graduating the outside world is changing, and horse training war horses looks to be a skill that will not be needed anymore, this and what happens at the end with who she waits till an adult to make love with is the super catalysts that will cause our young horse girl to be at a ballerina dance studio in the beginning of the second book and maybe becoming a king's daughter (which is how far I have gotten with this trilogy so far, so as to whether the trilogy stays worth reading I don't know yet and you will have to look up the reviews for the 2nd and 3rd book to know, since just easier for me to put reviews on a per book basis).
It had a few topics in it that could be surprising for some (hard to tell what they are without spoiling, so here comes the spoilers...but yes it would still be worth reading since I know my spoilers can't ruin a good read): super religious people against a ruling class they see as heathens, main character was brought up religious but she rebels after being treated badly and seeing how silly much of it is (though the power of the religion was shown like it was real to the true believers, or those not with foreign tainted blood), horse telepathy but with only war horses and some hot blooded racing horses, realities of war ... even when just small local rebellion, injured horses that needed finishing off to end suffering, breeding bloodlines in horses and same with human aristocracy, girl growing from a small starving child to a young adult blossomed female, hypnosis, visions of the future, ancient myths or stories, king's daughters--term for whores or any females in theater/dance/not noble born, learning a skill and becoming a master at it--horse trainer with highest level proficiency of war horse trainer, love, sex, voyeurism, secrets, betrayal, revenge, death, half-siblings, friendships, best friends outgrowing each other, some girl-lesbian exploration/experimentation, some people with extra long lifespans, tutors/teachers and harsh realities of trying to educate in bad locations/brainwashed religious rural places, epidemic illness, journey over land in harsh conditions, child abuse and rescue, gunpowder, cannons, battlefield tactics change and so too does the whole horse economy, and a huge big secret thing that would spoil the book so I won't say it here... but it's huge and my only warning is it's not a normal thing and the awfulness of it is shown for all....it is what changes things drastically for our main character and will be the reason things are different for her in the second book.
The book is told mostly through the eyes of Glennys and some through the eyes of other characters in the book (mostly briefly and just so we understand what is fully going on at times when Glennys herself may not even know--hypnosis scene especially). Glennys is raised in a backwater super religious society, where it's ok to beat wives and daughters just because no son was born and survived, where knowledge is only important if its on their religion, where people refuse to use/ride horses because they believe them to be the devil and they believe their god will one day help them kill all the horse riding people who had beaten them and taken over their country centuries ago. Glennys however loves the idea of horses, daydreams about them, dreams about them, and finally gets her chance to meet one, touch it, and then to go learn how to train them...then discovers she has a special gift of horse telepathy where she can make hot blooded horses do her bidding without making a sound. She is not just a war horse apprentice, she is also lady-in-waiting to the female teen daughter of the governing lord of the land, and friends with the second son and younger brother to the female teen. She is educated by the tutors of the lords kids when she has down time from horses/stables....which includes both dance, manners/etiquette, and swords and knife throwing and sorta circus horse riding tricks. Glennys puts her all into learning everything she can about horses in the 5 years she is an apprentice, and becomes very good at it. By the time she is graduating the outside world is changing, and horse training war horses looks to be a skill that will not be needed anymore, this and what happens at the end with who she waits till an adult to make love with is the super catalysts that will cause our young horse girl to be at a ballerina dance studio in the beginning of the second book and maybe becoming a king's daughter (which is how far I have gotten with this trilogy so far, so as to whether the trilogy stays worth reading I don't know yet and you will have to look up the reviews for the 2nd and 3rd book to know, since just easier for me to put reviews on a per book basis).
April 1, 2019
This book was not what I expected. The synopsis and the cover made it look like your typical YA coming-of-age fantasy story, but it turned out to be much more of an adult fantasy novel, dealing with mature themes, including a level of violence and coarse language that was jarring, given my expectations. The world of this story was brutal, and while I did find it intriguing once I readjusted my assumptions about the intended audience, the little moments of beauty and joy and strength weren't enough to counterbalance the harsh reality present at every turn. I did appreciate how real the horses and people felt, but I would have liked to see a bit more hope.
September 5, 2019
TW: incest, assault, abuse, all the sexism
This book seemed at first glance like a cute, horsey, coming of age story--it's in fact a dark, grim tale full of religious oppression, prostitution, conflict between a resentful conquered people and their condescending conquerors. But also horses, and Glenny, finding who she is and learning to handle the horses she loves. The male-female relationships are horrifying, with both groups having a firm idea of a 'woman's place,' and willing to do whatever they can to keep women there. As it's part of a trilogy, the end is rather open--the start of a next step, but not a happy ending.
This book seemed at first glance like a cute, horsey, coming of age story--it's in fact a dark, grim tale full of religious oppression, prostitution, conflict between a resentful conquered people and their condescending conquerors. But also horses, and Glenny, finding who she is and learning to handle the horses she loves. The male-female relationships are horrifying, with both groups having a firm idea of a 'woman's place,' and willing to do whatever they can to keep women there. As it's part of a trilogy, the end is rather open--the start of a next step, but not a happy ending.
May 17, 2018
A little gruesome for my taste, but otherwise a fascinating fantasy world where horses are either revered or hated.
September 11, 2019
Can the Horsegirl, Glennys, figure out what she is meant to do with her life? Can she decide what she believes? Since this is a trilogy, the first book ends with a journey.
February 6, 2016
Glennys came from a town of people who believed horses were evil , but all she'd wanted since she could remember was to ride. Then one day Baron Fulk comes, buys her service from her mother, and takes her away with him on the back of his horse. Now she's living in a whole new setting!
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June 7, 2017There are horse books and then there's this book. It had a girl with a power who sorta (?) liked horses. Also--Flowers in the Attic vibe.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews