Blue Ribbon Trail Ride by Miralee Ferrell (Book Review)

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Thirteen-year old Kate and her friends came up with the perfect way to raise money for her autistic younger brother and others to attend summer camp- a horse scavenger hunt!

As local businesses donate money and prizes, Kate keeps the entry fees in her mom's antique jewelry box.

But when the box and the money disappear, Kate and her friends must unravel the clues, hold on to hope, and solve the mystery along the Blue Ribbon Trail Ride.

My Thoughts

Blue Ribbon Trail Ride is the fourth book in Miralee Ferrell's series, Horses and Friends. This is the first book of the series that I have read and can easily be enjoyed without having been introduced to the characters prior to reading this one. The author does allude to previous events which tended to pique my curiosity and made me wish I started from the beginning of the series!

Now that my oldest two are reading on their own, and actually enjoy it, I have been scrambling to find book series that I think they might enjoy. Clearly girly babysitting series that I read as a kid certainly isn't going to cut it for my boys. Recently, we tried The Hardy Boys and my boys loved it. There was a problem though. There is constant lying and violence. I appreciated the story line and challenging vocabulary but when it comes down to it, the stories simply do not promote Christian morals.

Fortunately, the Horses and Friends Series does promote these values. Several times throughout the story, the children's faith and trust in God is clearly expressed.

I read this book aloud to my children and at first my boys were not amused. They were afraid this story would be too girly. Of course my horse loving daughter was thrilled and excited to listen to a fun horse story that she could enjoy. Interestingly enough, as soon as my boys realized though that there was a mystery involved in the story, they were on the edge of their seats. There were even a few days they would beg me to read another chapter because the cliff hanger at the end of the chapter was bugging them like crazy! They just had to know what was going to happen next.

Boys and girls alike will enjoy this series but it clearly is written with the pre-teen girl in mind. The story is written in a way that a young girl can both relate and be challenged in her faith. If you are looking for a wholesome series that promote good morals and godly examples for your daughter (and maybe her brothers!) then I recommend trying out this series.

Miralee Ferrell is the award-winning author of more than a dozen novels. She and her husband live along the Columbia River Gorge in southern Washington State, where she enjoys riding the wooded trails and spending time with her grown children. In addition to horses and dogs, Miralee once owned two cougars.

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Disclaimer: Thanks to Litfuse Publicity for a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All opinions stated here are my own.

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