Carrie is a girl who's seriously upset because out of the blue, she and her mother are going to move away from the family home. Nobody asked her. She doesn't know it yet, but they're going to a mountain ranch where her mother will be the cook over summer. CALICO HORSES AND THE PATCHWORK TRAIL are what life at Musical Mustangs B&B in Nevada is all about.
Carrie hates being parted from her best friend and the beach. She doesn't understand what divorces are about. She feels a little better when her mother Brenda doesn't know how to pump gas into the car, and the pump confusingly asks for her zip code before allowing use of a credit card. This proves that adults don't know everything. However, they've had a discussion and agreed that Carrie doesn't have to like life in Nevada. The road has distractions - a roadrunner, jackrabbits and hawks that aren't familiar to the Jersey girl. These almost make up for the bad dreams she's been having. And her dog Flannel can come along too. A lady called Sam runs the B&B and she's looking forward to the company.
Rehoming mustangs taken off the land is a big part of work in this area, and Carrie gets involved when another girl, a local called Milla, finds a tiny orphaned palomino foal. However, with large numbers of horses and burros together, infections can spread and hundreds of horses need vaccination. Fourth of July isn't much of a family holiday in such a circumstance. Can Carrie still manage to enjoy her stay?
This story has really good intentions but I thought it strayed in too many directions, making it harder to focus on the brave Carrie as she tries to adapt and grow in her new situation. For this reason the younger end of the YA readership may become impatient, and skip pages of adults trying to arrange breakfasts for visitors in order to get to the action. Older readers will learn a lot about the plight of wild horses as their grazing land is overrun with cattle and too many mustangs. CALICO HORSES AND THE PATCHWORK TRAIL by Lorraine Turner is an encouraging look at how a few people can help a desperate situation and preserve heritage. There's also a look at making patchwork quilts. The book might be a good family talking point.
When the Spirit of Horse speaks to a ten-year-old girl through her dreams and calico patches magically appear as if from nowhere, the residents of Saddlecrest, Nevada, have a genuine mystery on their hands. It’s the story of how a girl ripped apart by divorce helps the wild mustangs torn from the range. Together they face uncertainties brought on by the decisions of others. Carrie’s mom decides to uproot her from their familiar Jersey Shore home and move to the dusty deserts of Nevada. The move is as prickly to Carrie as the cactus beside her new home. But something mysterious greets her when she closes her eyes each night—like a winding path, her dreams guide her to the horses of the Calico Mountains. Are her developing psychic abilities bringing visits from horse spirits or is her troubled mind playing tricks on her? Her new friend Milla has nightmares of her own—she’s the daughter of a government official known as “the Horse Killer.” How can a few children make a difference to the plight of the foals snatched from their homes without warning? Like the tiny patches of cloth that adorn a calico quilt, the clues draw them all together. Follow the Calico horses as they lead us down the trail of adversity to the peaceful pastures found by helping one another.
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