Under a Different Sky

by Deborah Savage

A boy with Olympic dreams and an extraordinary horse struggles to transcend his impoverished family background as he falls in love with the emotionally troubled daughter of a wealthy family

Genres: Romance, Young Adult, Fiction

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Deborah Savage is the author of a number of books for young adults, including, Summer Hawk, winner of the Boston Authors Award for young adult literature 2000, To Race a Dream, and Under a Different Sky, which School Library Journal called in a starred review "endlessly fascinating and appealing." She lives in western Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Hannah Barnes · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had no idea what I was getting into when I picked up this book. Savage does an excellent job of giving each character a clear, distinct voice that you can almost hear while you read the dialog.

The story wanders a little, following the usual conflict pattern very loosely. Personally, I felt that Lara and Ben's relationship was a little rushed, but I also had trouble connecting to Lara in general. For a book written in the '90s, this has some good representation of mental illness. I wish the author had been more explicit in describing some of the things the characters did or talked about, but again, for a 90s young adult novel, it's not bad.

[Derek Marx · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first time I read this book I was in the fifth grade. It was one that had caught my eye at the school library, but then stayed in my mind long after. I guess one day it must have been particularly strong in my mind because I looked it up on Amazon, saw that there was a copy for one cent, and bought it. I read it again, and loved it again. That was years ago. Now, reading this book for the third time has not changed anything except for the way that I understand it. Her words evoke such a powerful feeling that's as beautiful as any image. It's something that has no way of being described, but I can't help relating it to things that I know. Like friendship, hope, things not yet discovered that when found mystify us. Overall, it's a great book. It's a rare thing for me to read a book more than once, but I would do it all over again just to understand this one more. Definitely a keeper.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a dissapointment after reading Savage's "To Race a Dream". What I didn't like about this book: the main characters bugged me (most of the book they frustrated me),there was some "TMI syndrome" (as I like to call it) which turned me off more, and the writing seemed "shallow" in some parts. What I liked about the book: Galaxy the horse, the horse trainers, and Miss Mik the teacher (she was the only character that did not bug me). So overall it was just an ok book.

[Patricia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story about a horse named Galaxy, a troubled young woman and a fairly grounded young man. This is somewhat of a romance. I am usually not drawn to books about animals, romance or trouble. :o) But I gave this one a whirl and it was fine.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice coming of age story

[Candie Callow · Rating 5 out of 5]

i could read this book over and over again. i never tire of the classic from a different side of the tracks kind of love story. kind of unclear at the ending but overall excellent read!

[Karijean31 · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the most entertaining book...it was okay.

[Katherine]

I loved it, though it was kind of sad in parts. It is a very powerful story, and I really enjoyed it.

[Jenni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Swedish title: Från skilda världar (and have a different cover with a black horse on it)

[Keyandria miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far it's really interesting. I like though. It's great I didn't know what i was getting into until I started reading it test It was really great.