Hoofbeats: Katie and the Mustang Book 1

Beautifully written and clean historical fiction book for young girls! My daughter is an advanced reader and this book would be geared toward 8-12 year olds. She throughly enjoyed it and is reading the other three in the series now.

Katie is traveling west to find her only living relative, her uncle. The trip is long and hard, but as long as Katie has the Mustang, it seems as though she will be fine in the end. The treacherous trip started when she heard her caretaker, Mr. Stevens, and his wife were going west without her and the Mustang. Katie was going to be left in the hands of another caretaker and Mr. Stevens left the orders for the Mustang to be shot. I loved this book. Any horse crazy girl would. The book is the second in the trilogy. It is suspenseful and even though Katie is a mere character, it seems as though you were traveling west with Katie and her Mustang. Kathleen Duey has written many other horse stories and all the ones I have read are awesome. She comes highly recommended on my list. -Gracie Eakin

I ordered this book and received it promptly and in excellent condition.

I finished this book in one day, and found it to be incredibly engrossing and educational. It reminded me a lot of The American Girl Books, which showcase real girls in a historical setting. That is the same purpose with the Hoofbeats series. Set on an Iowa farm is the laste 1800's, the book paints a very vivid picture of life for Katie, a 9 year old girl recently orphaned. I would recommend this book strongly to anyone with a daughter who loves horses, history, and reading altogether. This made for a very enjoyable afternoon!

The year is 1847, and nine-year-old orphan Katie Rose is ecstatic when Mr. Stevens brings home a wild Mustang, for it's the first bit of happiness she's felt since an epidemic wiped out her family three years ago, causing her to be forced to live with the evil Mr. and Mrs. Stevens. Katie finds herself drawn to the Mustang, and realizes that he trusts her to a certain extent, and even lets her work with him. Soon, Katie and the Mustang have a strong bond with each other. Then comes the news. Mr. Stevens plans on following the Oregon trail, which is perfect for Katie, for she will be able to find her Uncle. But then she finds out that Mr. Stevens plans on sending her to an orphanage and killing the Mustang before they leave. Now Katie and the Mustang, with the help of a ranch hand named Hiram, have decided to runaway, and escape their terrible fate before it's too late. Kathleen Duey has created an extremely enjoyable new series for fans of historical fiction, and horse lovers. Her characters are kind, and intriguing, and paint a wonderful picture of what growing up in the year 1847 was like. Katie is a sweet character, whom readers will feel an instant bond with, and readers will feel the same way towards the Mustang. Filled with wonderful descriptions and adventures, this is a book that cannot be missed. Erika Sorocco Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

Young Katie, orphaned in an epidemic, is taken in by Mr. and Mrs. Stevens, a childless couple. But then she learned that they planned to kill the mustang horse she had befriended and take her to an orphanage in St. Louis. With the help of Hiram, the farmhand, Katie is able to escape the Stevenses and take the mustang with her. Hiram, who has no family of his own, feels he must protect Katie and offers to take her on the long journey west so she can live with her relatives in Oregon. But just the journey to Independence, Missouri -- the starting-off point for the Oregon Trail -- is difficult and dangerous, and the mustang still doesn't trust Katie fully. Young readers who enjoy historical fiction will be sure to enjoy this series for its setting, and fans of horse stories will love Katie's bond with the mustang. A sweet story that I highly recommend to young readers.