True Enough

Heartland #11

by Lauren Brooke

Heartland is a horse farm nestled in the hills of Virginia, but it's much more than that. Heartland is like no other place - it's a place where the scars of the past can be healed, a place where frightened and abused horses learn to trust again.

When Ashley Grant shows up uninvited at Heartland, Amy is suspicious. Ashley has been anything but nice in the past, and now she is asking for a favor. She wants Amy to help train Bright Magic, a showy European jumper recently purchased by Ashley's mom. Despite Amy's cloudy relationship with the Grants, she accepts the challenge, knowing that helping horses is her first priority. And as Amy starts to work with Ashley, she begins to see her bitter old rival in a whole new way.

Genres: Horses, Young Adult, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Middle Grade, Contemporary

157 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

Lauren Brooke grew up in a ranch in Virginia and now lives in Leicestershire, England. Her husband is a veterinarian who specializes in horses. Her books have been published by Scholastic since Mid-2000, starting with the first book of the Heartland book series. The first book of her popular Chestnut Hill series was published in 2005.

According to an interview on scholastics' website, Lauren Brooke has been riding since before she could walk. She also said she competes in a few local-level horse shows and events.

There may be some other people in books and movies named Lauren Brooke:
Amazon lists the author of "Book of spiritual regeneration" (1995) as Lauren Brooke.
IMDB.com has a record for an Actress named Lauren Brooke. Her only movie is "Wiseguys vs. Zombies" (2003) as Goat Man's Wife.

Reviews

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

After Amy helps Ashley, her archenemy, after Ashley falls during a show, Amy is surprised when Ashley comes to Heartland asking for her help. Reluctantly, Amy decides to help Ashley, if only for the sake of Ashley's horse. Meanwhile, Amy has to figure out what is wrong with a horse named Boxer, whose owner sent him to Heartland to be re-homed. It doesn't help that Ruth, Boxer's owner, rubs Amy the wrong way.

In both cases, Amy is working with people she doesn't like, and she has difficulty moving beyond what she sees as people who don't care about their horses. But she still tries, if only for the sake of the horse. While Ruth eventually comes around and opens up about her reasons for sending Boxer (her father, Boxer's real owner, has Alzheimer's), Ashley doesn't, at least not in this story, but there are lessons to be learned from both scenarios. Amy could feel like she made at least a little change in Ashley, even if she and Ashley are never going to be best friends. I was glad to see Daniel appear in the story (as Ashley's stablehand) and I'm still hoping there will be a happier ending for him, since working for Ashley doesn't sound like much fun at all!

[Dionne]

listen, I'm just living my best horse summer girl life over here, don't mind me

[Meg R White · Rating 4 out of 5]

We do pretty much the same as Heartland and I love the way it talks about the abused horses and how nice it is to ride storm because he’s not abused. People don’t realise how different it is to train a horse who has been discarded or abused compared to training a horse who has only known love and shelter. The only thing that really annoys me is how they act like going to shows is so bad. When we have a rescue to rehabilitate, we take them to shows to help us rehome them. I don’t know if it’s different in the states but it’s just portrayed as such a negative thing!

[kat♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

this was a good one!!! i didnt like it AS much as the others but it was still a good one!! probly my favorite parts were when ty and amy’s dating relationship got more attention because honestly i felt like they were just... friends and not dating because nothing changed but maybe things will change now and i cant wait to keep reading the rest of the series!

[Isabella Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read by Lauren Brooke! I am so looking forward to watching the TV show next. 😊

This time at Heartland, Amy has been enjoying her new life back at the show grounds competing her new horse Storm, given to her and her older sister by their Father. But when her school and competing rival, Ashly Grant, asks her for help with training her new horse Bright Magic, Amy has to make a big decision. Can she really make time to help Bright Magic or should she focus on the other horses that need her help at Heartland? And has Ashly really changed or does she just want to use Amy to help her win?

*Feel free to check out my overview for the Heartland series over on my Substack blog:

https://thepaintedcaravan.substack.co...

Isabella Ann of The Painted Caravan ♡

[The Chapter Conundrum (Stacey) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars

This was less fluffy than I expected it to be for a Middle-Grade book! I remember seeing the CBC show episode based on this novel and thinking it was just okay. The novel did this chunk of the story in SUCH a better way! I love that this one touches on different forms of mental illness and I love that Ty takes a more supportive role.

[Stefanie Robinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amy gets an unexpected visitor at Heartland, Ashley, a girl who was not always the kindest to her. Ashley is wanting Amy to help her train a new horse that her mother bought her and get ready for the show circuit. Amy is gearing up for a miserable time, after agreeing to help Ashley, but she is shocked to discover the change in Ashley's attitude. This was a pretty good book, in my opinion. It goes to show you that people aren't always what they seem, and that people can change.

[Kirsty McCracken · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew in the TV show Ashley and Amy eventually bury the hatchet but I didn't remember it happening, or at least I didn't remember the possibility of it happening, in the books. I wonder if they really do the clichéd thing and end up friends or if they manage a friendship without the clichés. I am doubtful.

[Clemence D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Encore un nouveau tome réussit de la saga Heartland pour adolescent.

Alors si vous apprécier la littérature adolescente bien écrite et les chevaux, il ne vous reste plus qu'a venir découvrir cette délicieuse saga !

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating- 3.75 stars.
This one always takes a dip for me- and maybe the next one if I can remember correctly?-until we get back to some newer and a bit more interesting story in the few ones coming up.

[Tibbara's Den · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one was more middle of the road. I did like the discussion around illness and family caregivers. I liked the little bit of positive interaction between Amy and Ashley. The plot itself isn't as engaging as some of the others, though.

[David Burnworth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story. Amy helping Hank and Ruth.
Lou learning and loving to ride again.
Ty and Amy slowly becoming what they are in the show.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this cover looked familiar. I don't really recall if this was good or not but I picked it up because of horses!

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this one!

[Katie Hildreth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this series!!

[Olivia H. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great read. It’s a little more emotional, but the ending is very sweet. Totally recommend this book and it’s series!

[Sue Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good story
Loved it
Love reading more about the horses
And Amy helping the horses
Every story is different

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

I almost felt sorry for Ashley in this book but she is such a hard character to like. Amy absolutely did the right thing!

[Nati · Rating 5 out of 5]

wgl to jedyna seria gdzie robiłam reread xFDD i zastanawiam się na kolejnym (20 tomów )

[Alina Nieminen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hyvä kirja kuiten kaikki muutkin tämän sarjan kirjat. Vähän surullinen fiilis Hankin ja Boxerin kohtalosta.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a surprisingly mature book, that dealt with working with people you dislike, and also handled the topic of mental health and illnesses very sensitively and delicately.

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I hope there interactions bloom into a wonderful friendship.

[Rholien Nel · Rating 4 out of 5]

My review:

If I was somebody who absolutely LOVE horses, this would have been a amazing book.
Lauren Brook is a really good author and you can really feel her passion for horses.
Mostly I read this because I enjoyed the TV series.

Summery:

Amy is struggling with four problems,
1. Boxer, his old owner Hank, who has Alzheimers, and Hank's daughter Ruth.
2. Ashley Grant who calls Amy for help after falling from her horse, Bright Magic, at a show.
3. The fact that Ty seems te be either hiding her from his family, or his family from her.
4. The horse her father gifted her and Lou and the fact that she is the only one riding him.

[AmbWitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well I had time to read another one in this series while I waited until I could go home, and for some reason, this made me reconsider getting rid of this series, which is funny because when I read these is the past, I wasn’t much a fan of this one.


Like the others, this was an enjoyable read that had a few life lessons amongst the pages and helped me kill time while keeping me vaguely entertained. I really enjoyed the chance to see more of Ashley, and seeing into her life made us understand her a little more, just like it helped Amy understand her more and showed us that people have reasons for how they are and to not be so quick to judge. Of course, there is still no chance of the two girls being friends, but it made me want to see more of Ashley.


It was also interesting to see more of Val. While we started to like Ashley more, we started to like her mother less (such a long insightful paragraph there).


Overall, another good read. I may have decided to keep these books once I read this but on later consideration I have decided to get rid of them as I have sort of grown out of them and really could do with less books as I have ran out of shelf space, box space and are now taking up floor space with my books. So even though I do enjoy reading these, I have to cull my books.

[Amanda Schell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore the heartland series!!! All of them! And in case you were wondering the TV series is pretty good too <3

[Kelsey Broering · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rate this book a ten out of ten. I loved this book. I love horses and that is all it is about. I watch the series of this book and it was amazing and the book is so much better. I recomend this book to anybody who likes horses. Thats all they talk about and you learn about horses to. I recommend this book to teenagers. This goes best to teenagers that like horses. They can learn what to do to horses to calm them down.

This book is about Amy taking care of a horse called Boxer. Boxer was a horse they got to rehome. They had the horse for weeks and it still didn't want to eat so it was getting concerning. Amy called the old owner to ask what was wrong but she said nothing to help. Eventually she went to there house and talked to the owners dad who knew the horse even though he had alzteimers. Finally at the end Ruth the owner for gave Amy for coming over and brought Hank the owners dad to see the horse Boxer. You would never know how that horse responded to Hank.

[livresetsonges · Rating 3 out of 5]

J'avoue avoir été un peu moins fan de ce tome là. Angela est présentée comme la "méchante" et comme dans la plupart des romans jeunesses de ce style, le personnage est bâclé et sans grand intérêt. L'histoire entre Laura et Angela ne m'a donc pas emballée plus que cela. Cependant l'histoire de Boxer le cheval qui arrive à Heartland m'a bien plus intéressé. Ce tome est donc un peu en dessous des autres, mais il se lit quand même très vite ! De plus j'étais très contente de revoir Daniel que l'on a rencontré dans le tome précédent.

[Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Heartland books are a fun read, and they’re pretty quick to get through for me. You get your horses and your heartache from Heartland. These books are pretty steady, all continuing the story of Amy, Lou, Ty, Jack and the assorted horses.
The writing and subject matter are obviously intended for children, and can be a bit clunky at times for individuals with a higher reading level.

[Tayphath · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book just like I loved the first one I read, which was One Day You'll know. Amy is a caring person, and she will do anything to help anyone, and any horse. She helps her school enemy, a horse, who misses his previous owner, a woman who is loosing her father, and a father who is suffering from Alzheimer's. It was a great book.

[Sully · Rating 4 out of 5]

While the mix of personal issues and horse issues is similar in this book as to the others in the series, the development in Ty's character is a great addition in this book. He is such as important character to Heartland and to Amy, and we still don't know a whole heck of a lot about him.