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Mami Tales is pleased to be a part of the Blog Tour for the children’s adventure book, Mary’s Song by Susan Count, coordinated by BeachBoundbooks. The tour will run December 12, 2016 – January 2, 2017.
About the Book
Title: Mary’s Song (Dream Horse Adventure Book 1) | Author: Susan Count Genre: Children’s Fiction | Number of Pages: 122 | Publisher: Hastings Creations Group Release Date: October 20, 2016
Book Description: Mary’s heart breaks over the pending destruction of a beautiful, but damaged filly. When life is not fair, the courageous challenge the obstacles.Twelve-year-old Mary was disabled at the age of four by the same virus that took the life of her mother. While she longs to have a horse of her own, she’s limited to reading horse books. A talented artist, she spends her days on a blanket in the grass sketching the horses at the farm next door. She falls in love with one of the foals and is outraged to learn the filly is considered worthless as it was born lame. Mary befriends and enlists the help of twelve-year-old Laura, whose family owns the horse farm. Against the better judgment of the farm manager, a brief reprieve is negotiated for the foal’s life. The girls conspire to raise money to save her, but time is running out. Sadly, it appears the expensive surgery the foal needs has little chance to correct her problem anyway. Mary isn’t about to give up. She sacrifices what she holds dear, including the trust of her papa, to gain her heart’s desire. Will she lose everything in her struggle to save the foal?
My Review
Mary, victim of paralysis thanks to a Polio epidemic in the first half of the 20th century, sees herself reflected in a little red foal with club foot. As the breeder is about to put the horse down because of its defect, Mary makes it her life’s task to save the filly. A coming of age novel, Mary’s Song is a real drama where a girl has to find courage to overcome her own disability to save a kindred soul. Also, as Mary tries to save the horse, she also finds the courage and will to deal with her own therapy and prospects to get better.
This novel is a very easy read, and I’m sure younger girls who love drama will identify and root for Mary and her process. As an adult reader, I felt the conflict and its resolution to be a little too easy and predictable. I would have liked to focus more on the connection that Mary felt to the lame horse and have a little more interaction between them, but the author chose to steer towards the budding relationship between Mary and Laura, the horse farm’s owner’s daughter. It is evident the author loves and knows horses deeply, it’s just the connection and development of the characters that left me wanting. The story happens in the 1950’s; the main character and the way the confronts her problems felt true to that date.
I think this book would appeal more to younger tweens, as the conflicts and resolutions seem appropriate and engaging for modern day kids of that age.
What others are saying…
“An excellent and engaging book from start to finish. A must read.” – Amazon Review
“Susan Count knows how to write about horses, family, friendship, love, faith, and sacrifice. Her true-to-life characters easily engaged me in wanting to know more about them and how their conflicts would be resolved.” – Geoffrey W.
“A genuinely touching story about friendship and recovery. I strongly recommend this to anyone looking for a good horse book perfect for middle age girls!” – Amazon Review
About the Author
One day…I began to write with no preconceived ideas about anything. I’d read what I had written the day before and add another scene to the adventure. No one could have been more astounded than I was when it turned into a book. The whole process gave me great joy and restored my spirit after a season of loss. My motivation was my desire to bless one particular young lady with a story to show her a love relationship in a family, with the Lord, and with a horse. I truly thought the story would remain in a drawer until she was old enough to read it. Surprise.
I write at an antique secretary desk which belonged to the same grandmother who introduced me to horse books. The desk has secret compartments and occupies a glass room with a forest view. Bunnies and cardinals regularly interrupt my muse, as do my horses grazing in a clearing.
Though I am a rider and lover of horses, I make no claims of expertise in any riding discipline. I hope that my research keeps me from annoying those who would know.
The only thing more fun than riding might be writing horse adventure stories.
Saddle up and ride along!
Blog Tour Giveaway
Prize: One winner will receive a $25 Amazon gift card or $25 PayPal cash prize(winner’s choice)
Giveaway ends: January 2, 11:59 pm, 2017
Open to: Internationally.
How to enter: Please enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.
Terms and Conditions: NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. A winner will be randomly drawn through the Rafflecopter widget and will be contacted by email within 48 hours after the giveaway ends. The winner will then have 72 hours to respond. If the winner does not respond within 72 hours, a new draw will take place for a new winner. Odds of winning will vary depending on the number of eligible entries received. This contest is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with Facebook. This giveaway is sponsored by the author, Susan Count and is hosted and managed by Stacie from BeachBoundBooks. If you have any additional questions feel free to send an email to stacie@BeachBoundBooks.com.
Thank you for hosting Mary’s Song blog tour and for sharing your thoughts about the book.
Of course! My pleasure! I hope it has an awesome tour!