"Girls can't drive harness horses," Theo muttered. "Stupid."
Theo loves pacing horses. Every day she stares off to the International Stock Feed Farm and dreams of horses. But her mother doesn't think horses are worthwhile. She's always talking about Theo's wonderful sister Claudia. Theo is furious. Then, when her sister becomes ill with polio, Theo slips away, dressed as a boy, to get a lousy job of picking things up around the stable. She meets Dan Patch, her idol horse, but it is still a tall ladder to her dream of driving--but Theo decides to climb it. But how long can she live a lie?
This book is excellent. It makes you feel like you are really there and feeling Theo's emotions. You can almost hear the horses snorting, see the sweat shine on Dan Patch's bay flanks, and smell the horse sweat. You can feel the horror of Claudia's sickness and the joy of meeting legendary pacers. A great introduction to the somewhat unpopular world of harness racing.

Since I'm not a big horse fan, I wasn't too excited when I checked this book out. When I started reading it, I couldn't stop. It's so well written, everything is described well and you get a real feel for the characters, especially the main character: Theo. It's inspiring, and shows that sometimes the same dream can take a different shape. There's a good romance going on throughout the book, which adds to it's charm. I definitly recommend this book toanyone, especially girls, horselovers, or aspiring writers between the ages of 8 and 15

Since I'm not a big horse fan, I wasn't to excited when I checked this book out. When I started reading it, I couldn't stop. It's so well written, everything is described well and you get a real feel for the characterS, Especially the main character: Theo. It's inspiring, and shows that sometimes the same dream can take a different same. I definitly recommend this book toanyone, especially girls, horselovers, or aspiring writters between the ages of 8 and 15

Sarah is enchanted by Mako and they lead a very real like and magical adventure that will find your hearts centre. If you have never seen New Zealand then this is the way to imagine it. But do not be discouraged by the sloppy stuff there isn't much at all and the adventures are what blows you away.

Flight of The Albitross is a very powerful book. It's message is very serious, and the book itself is one very much worth reading. A Maori boy of New Zeland and a Caucasion girl from New York fall deeply in love while helping to save an injured albitross. But racial controversies cause onlookers of the relationship to wonder, and the injured albitross becomes sick. Will Mako, Sara, and the albitross overcome their own personal hardships, or will the summer end only in disaster?

Charlotte has no desire to leave her Cape Cod roots or home since her best friend Wim died: she just wants to be left alone with her job grooming horses. When an elderly aunt with mental problems and a last wish for her life comes to live with them, and a visitor from New Zealand stays on their property and evokes romantic feelings, Charlotte finds her life changing despite all she can do to resist. An evocative, gentle story of loss and survival.

My 13-year-old daughter and I often read books aloud. Both horse lovers, we started on this one with pretty high hopes, but disappointment set in before we finished chapter one. The author clearly knows little about real horses and riding. The whole idea that some lad could watch a couple of videos and from them learn competition-level dressage riding, even though he lacks a saddle and proper arena, is utter nonsense. His "being at one" with his stallion hints [badly] at the erotically horrific (but masterly) "Equus" (Peter Schafer)...or maybe it's just very purple prose. The whole idea that boy and horse think in unison seems pretty dodgy. At the end of chapter one, without mentioning my own reservations, I asked my daughter what she thought. "It's pretty over the top and not very realistic is it? Let's read something else." I guess that about sums it up. (We did try chapter 2, but won't go beyond it; the book doesn't get better. That said, some of the early dialogue is fairly well written...)

Is a great book. I felt connected to it oddly enough. Savage writes in with such good description and feeling yet it feels like your always missing one little detail. I felt as if I knew who Lara and Ben were and how they looked, even though the author gave vague descriptions. I have never read a book like this and I think it is truly wonderful

I picked up this book on a spontaneous library visit, and I read it in one day. I was completely awed by the character of Lara McGrath... I saw myself in her and everything she did. Ben was noble to fall in love with someone like her, who is so hard to love. But "Under a Different Sky" gave me hope that people like Lara and I aren't in fact hateful creatures. We are people that can be loved.

For Gary Paulsen fans, here's a new twist on an old scenerio. When a teenager finds herself in the wilderness of New Zeland, (for different reasons than Paulsen's Brian,) Alexa searches for the otters that she knows are not just a myth.

This is the first book by Savage I have read. Much of this book is rather poetic and ethereal, which appeals to me. Overall though, Savage's hinting at things and heavy innuendos were unfulfilling and confusing, rather than suspenseful. The stereotyping of the community was a bit heavyhanded as well.

Character developement was fairly good, but I wondered about what would happen to a number of the supporting cast. Mom's character is never fully understood. If Melissa was so supportive of her mom, how come we never got to know her?

I enjoy much about this book, I don't think I'd recommend it. It's a vague read.

When Taylor M. Armstrong-Brown moved to Hunter's Gap, Pensylvania, she expected to meet only hicks. But when she met Rail, a supposed "redneck," she began to see that there are more to people than just what one sees on the outside. If you are looking for a normal Savage novel, this book will not fit what you are looking for. Although Savage weaved another extraordinary twist into the ending, the Savage-style love story does not apply to this book. Not that I'm saying you shouldn't read it. It is a very well done piece of work, and DS never ceases to amaze me with her plot-twists at the end. A word of advice, though: Savage rambles quite a bit on the subject of journalism. I enjoyed this because I plan to be a journalist someday, but if you aren't interested in the subject, it could get old.