Storm Chaser

If you and your children like wholesome, girl-and-her-horse stories, you will love Storm Chaser. Author Chris Platt brings ranch life, family loyalty, and the breath-taking scenery of the rich Nevada deserts and mountains vividly to life in this heart-warming story. The story opens with thirteen-year-old Jessica Warner's father, brother Duncan and their young breeders, Gator and Wyatt, herding some wild quarter horses into a pen. It's summer and Jess plans to spend her time helping on the ranch, hoping her father will allow her to train the horses this year. Although she loves her faithful horse Rusty, the vet has said Rusty is getting too old to ride, so when she spots a beautiful wild Paint filly in the new group, she sets her mind on her. Against her father's advice, the young girl secretly names her Storm Chaser. For economic reasons, Jess knows that the family needs to sell all the horses after they're trained, but she can't help dreaming of flying across the range astride Chase. And then a raging summer storm puts the horses and the ranch in further peril when lightning starts a barn fire. Mr. Warner has always resisted offers from travel agents to turn their ranch into a vacation spot...a dude ranch, but after the fire the family must consider this alternative. Jessica and her mother have always favored the idea because they think it would be fun and Jess could use more companionship from girls her own age. Her best friend is Marybeth, but she's three years younger. It warms my heart the way the neighbors pitch in to help each other when things go wrong. There's also a hint of "puppy love" in the shy looks that pass between Wyatt and Jess. What happens during the fire to put Duncan's and Rusty's lives in danger? How does Mr. Warner react when Duncan allows Jess to help train Storm Chaser? How do the first group of "vacationers" fit in? What happens when a rich, city girl sets her cap for Duncan and Storm Chaser too? What does Jess learn about friendship when she caters to the city girl and neglects Marybeth for a time? Chris Platt deftly answers the above questions and more in this well-written, entertaining story. The mood of Storm Chaser is light excitement and it's a smooth, pleasant read. Platt grabbed me from the first with her easy pace and timely introduction of realistic characters. I learned a lot about horses in this book; this author knows what she's writing about! But she should, since she earned her first gallop license at age sixteen and a few years later became one of Oregon's first female jockeys. Platt now lives on her own ranch and I got a chuckle when I read this in her bio: "Platt lives in Nevada with her husband, six horses, three cats, a parrot and a pot-bellied pig..." Platt also won a Golden Heart from RWA for her debut novel "Willow King" which is due for republication in September Willow King; her novel Moon Shadow also won an award; and she is also the author of Willow King: Race the Wind (Random H

Bonds with animals are not that uncommon, but how much does love stand up to money? "Storm Chaser" tells the story of Jessie, a girl raised on a ranch who has developed compassion for a paint horse who she names Storm Chaser. But when a guest at the ranch decides to buy Storm Chaser when the ranch is in tough economic times, Jessie is at a loss how to save her favorite horse. "Storm Chaser" is a touching story that will attract many a teenage reader.