Shy Girl & Shy Guy (Quartz Creek Ranch)

A wonderful story for any young horse lovers in your life!

Horses, horses, horses! It was all about horses for Hanna Abbott. Not. Perhaps when she was a seven-year-old, but not now. She was on her way to the Quartz Creek Ranch in Colorado for a six-week rehab stint. “They,” her mother explained, will “teach you discipline and manners. You could use some of those.” Hanna had done nothing but disappoint her mother and so the “no-contact” rule would probably be a relief ... for her. The only problem was that horses absolutely terrified her. What the heck was she going to do when they tried to train her to actually ride one at Quartz Creek? To make things worse, the other girls heading toward the ranch in the Econoline were already making fun of her.Quartz Creek Ranch was a “rehab for struggling youth,” where Hanna was supposed to be rehabilitated. Madison Clark was going to be the girls’ counselor and encouraged Hanna to make friends, but she was way too reserved for that. Besides, Isabel, ‘Izzy,’ was already on her case. It just wasn’t a great start and there was no hiding in this place. Ma Etty explained that they’d “picked each of you from our pool of applicants.” Respect was given and expected in return. Cade, Izzy, Rae Ann, Josh, and Hanna had to introduce themselves to the others, but Hanna flubbed that one with a confession. “I like the color green and I steal.” Great.Hanna had to admit she was frightened of horses, but Madison was mystified. “She’s the one who wants me to ride,” she said of her mother, “But I don’t.” Run, she began to run as fast as she could, away from the ranch, away from everyone. There was a horse grazing in a pasture far away from all the others, but why was he separated? The horse “was beautiful—the prettiest horse she’d ever seen in real life,” but he was as skittish and wild as she was. Why was he so frightened? “Why did you run off like that?” Madison angrily asked her. Hanna was once again a disappointment to everyone around her, but Ma Etty saw something different in her.“I see such a smart, sensitive girl here ...” Ma Etty said as she comforted Hanna. There would be a different job in store for Hanna and no, she didn’t have to ride. Hanna was going to get that horse to trust in her, a horse that was “Abandoned. Abused. Afraid.” Sounded familiar, but Shy Guy was just as afraid of her as she was of him. Old feelings began to well up in Hanna’s heart and the “next day, the need to steal something and get away with it consumed” her. Just maybe Shy guy would learn to trust her, but he was so wild they couldn’t even pick his hooves. Hanna was making a bit of headway with him, but when Izzy pushed Hanna into the corral there was trouble. Shy Guy bolted and ran “off at full tilt down Brindlemile Road? Was he going to die because of her carelessness? Would Hanna ever regain the trust of Ma Etty?This is the perfect tale about a frightened girl and horse team young horse-lovers will love. Hanna is a serious disappointment to everyone around her, but when she meets Shy Guy, she’s met her match. He doesn’t fit in anywhere either and is just as frightened of the world as she is. Hanna, on many levels, understands how he feels as will many ‘tweens and teens who read about them. Of course there’s the mysterious background of the horse that no one can figure out. Just why was Shy Guy so wild and crazy? The twist toward the end of the book is a fun, fabulous one and I found myself totally wanting Hanna to “find” herself and become the girl she was inside. This is one in a new series of books, “Quartz Creek Ranch,” that is sure to be a hit with young readers.Reading Grade Level: 4Interest Grade Level: 4 to 8QUARTZ CREEK RANCH: Shy Girl & Shy Guy At Top Speed The Long Trail Home One Brave Summer This book courtesy of the publisher.

This story is pretty much everything you want in a book with a horse and a girl on the cover. Full of wonderful characters - both human and horse, this book is about growth, friendship, and learning about yourself in ways both wonderful and terrifying.Full of great horse scenes, great middle grade relationships, and a harrowing finale, this is a book for every kid who feels a little lost sometimes. And for every kid who simply loves horses.

Fresh, sweet, and thoughtful!

She loves it