True Blue

Starred review from July 15, 2011

Smiley continues the story of Abby Lovitt and the horses on her family's California ranch in the 1960s.

When family friend and fellow stable-owner Jane sells Abby a horse for the change in her pocket, Abby is thrilled. True Blue, a gorgeous and personable gray, seems full of potential. But he comes with literal baggage—trunks of saddles and bridles and, most spookily, his dead former owner's boots. Abby shoves them out of sight, but she can't ignore Blue's own spookiness—he leaps and shies away from things no one else can see. Soon Abby is convinced that she, too, sees a ghost woman riding him. Meanwhile, Abby breaks her wrist, and an incident at her church brings her father's relationship with her estranged brother to a head. Abby has already learned how quickly things can go wrong—but now she learns that, sometimes, everything can also be put right. Readers who have been with this story from the beginning will enjoy watching narrator Abby continue to grow; newcomers will want to go back and start at the beginning with The Georges and the Jewels (2009).

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

August 1, 2011

Gr 6-8- True Blue continues the story of Abby Lovitt and her conservative Christian family. Abby lives on a horse ranch in Northern California during the 1960s. She and her father go to see a beautiful dappled gray horse whose owner recently died in a traffic accident. Abby is enchanted and she pays $5.60 for him on the spot. True Blue is a nervous animal, and the girl soon wonders if his deceased owner might still be visiting him as a ghost. As she struggles with the idea of this ghost, she goes on a cattle drive, breaks her arm, and gives riding lessons. She also puzzles over her father's relationships with both her brother and with their church. This novel will appeal most to readers interested in horses as the author is generous with passages containing detailed descriptions of training, grooming, and riding. Those looking for lots of action or humor will be disappointed.-Mindy Whipple, West Jordan Library, UT

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2012
True Blue, sweet-tempered but easily spooked, needs a home. Horse-wise Abby (The Georges and the Jewels, A Good Horse) takes him on. Abby's story develops in satisfying ways, from her new job as a riding instructor to her estranged brother's reconciliation with their dad. It's gratifying to see good things come into the life of the likable, older-than-her-thirteen-years protagonist.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

November 1, 2011
True Blue, a sweet-tempered dapple gray who nonetheless spooks at everything, needs a new home after his owner is killed in a car accident. Thirteen-year-old Abby Lovitt, the earnest, horse-wise protagonist of The Georges and the Jewels (rev. 11/09) and A Good Horse (rev. 11/10), takes him on, but she breaks her arm in a fall before she can work with him. And is it Abby's imagination, or is the shadowy, dark-haired ghost of Blue's former owner following Blue around, claiming him as her own? Abby's story develops in satisfying ways, from her new job as a riding instructor (Smiley slips in lots of horse info through Abby's observations and interests) to her estranged brother's tntative reconciliation with their fundamentalist dad. The ghost motif is lightly handled, offering a few gentle chills before sunlight and practicality (introduced via Abby's growing friendship with twins Alexis and Barbie) ease her worries. It's gratifying to see good things come into the life of likable, older-than-her-years Abby and indicative of Smiley's talent that she can continue Abby's story in rewarding directions while keeping it as fresh and original as a stand-alone work. anita l. burkam

(Copyright 2011 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

August 1, 2015
Gr 5-8-Twelve-year-old Abbey lives on a horse ranch in California in the 1960s. When a woman dies in a tragic car accident leaving her beloved horse, True Blue, in need of a home, the stable owner gives him to Abby and her family. But when they get him to the ranch, Blue seems spooked by something. Is it the ghost of his previous owner? Soon Abby truly believes that it is, because she has seen it, too. Narrator Angela Goethals is spot on as young Abby and brings fresh appeal to this classic horse story. VERDICT Horse lovers will relish the fantastic equine details including grooming, riding, and training information, and the unresolved ending will have listeners chomping at the bit for the next book in the series.-"Lisa E. Hubler, Charles F. Brush High School, Lyndhurst, OH"

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.