100. Bea and the New Deal Horse

Bea and the New Deal Horse. L.M. Elliott. 2023. 384 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: I woke up in a billowing pile of fresh-cut hay, wrapped in its miraculous smells--of buttercups, of those miniature fuzzy wild daisies, of grasshoppers. Not the big, prickly legged locusts that spit tobacco juice but the sweet little sliver of green grasshoppers that look like tiny blades of grass. No needles of dried-up, dead-yellow straw sticking and tickling either. Soft, like sleeping on a little mountain of emerald-colored lace.

Premise/plot: Bea and Vivian are abandoned (essentially) by their father and left in the barn of their mother's college roommate's mother's Virginia horse farm. He leaves a note to his eldest, Bea, explaining just why he's leaving them there. (Not why he's leaving perhaps, but why there.) The novel is set during the early years of the Depression. (FDR is not president yet, though an election year is coming up). Their father, a banker, has lost everything--including hope that he can take care of his two little girls. Mrs. Scott, who owns the horse farm, is on hard times herself; she may lose everything too. Bea doesn't reveal all, but she does her best to prove useful to Mrs. Scott. Her and Vivian will do their best to contribute enough to the house to stay welcome. Bea's usefulness with horses comes in handy.

My thoughts: I do not like horse books. Usually. I did LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this horse book, however. It's good to know there are exceptions to the rule. (Black Beauty also comes to mind as an exception.) I really loved the characters--both major and minor characters. The story was engaging. I didn't think I could care about horses and horse competitions, but, I was very invested in the outcome.

 

 

© 2023 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews