Saturday, March 18, 2017

Kendall, Christine. Riding Chance.

Kendall, Christine.  Riding Chance.  Scholastic Press  2016  212p  $16.99     ISBN 978-0-545-92404-7    Hardback  ms/hs Realistic fiction  VG

Troy’s mother has died and he has lost his father, Pops, to a deep depression. He ends up hanging out with the wrong crowd and getting into trouble, along with his best friend Foster. His social worker suggests an alternative punishment for the crime: to enroll the boys in a prevention program in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia, taking care of horses and mucking out their stalls. The boys are not happy about this alternative but agree to participate. That’s when Troy finds his passion. He loves getting to know the horses and riding them, and then he discovers his ultimate opportunity, the sport of polo.

This heartwarming story will engage, delight, and appeal to adolescent and young adult readers. Troy reluctantly enters the program and finds he is not sure whom he can trust. He also meets a young lady that he is attracted to there, Alisha. The plot is unique and will keep readers on the edge of their seats as they root for Troy and his success, with his new love of horses, polo, family relationships, friendships, events and circumstances, and his resolution of all the confusion he has felt since his mother’s death.
           
This book is highly recommended for all middle- or high-school libraries and will engage and delight readers as coming of age is accurately captured in this novel.

Summary: Troy’s mother has died and he has lost his father Pops to depression.  Troy starts acting out with the wrong crowd and is placed in a program in present–day Philadelphia taking care of horses.        


Horses-Fiction, Polo-Fiction                                —Virginia McGarvey

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