Calling all horse lovers

If you like horses, this is the book for you! There seem to be two parallel stories going on in The Georges and the Jewels by Jane Smiley. Abby is a 7th grader growing up on a California horse ranch in the 1960s. Her father calls all of their male horses "George" and all the females "Jewel," so Abby won't get too attached to any of them before they're sold. Abby does tons of work with the horses, from feeding and grooming to riding and training. The author alternates between this theme and life at school, which features plenty of stress from the Big Four - Linda, Mary A., Mary N., and Joan - and changing friendships with Gloria and Stella. I kept thinking there was going to be a significant link between these two stories, but that never seemed to be developed. Another part of the book, when Abby was asked to help train a horse for Melinda, a shy and very wealthy young girl, had a lot of potential, but it also fell flat. If you like lots of detail about horse raising (each chapter starts with a few beautiful pen and ink drawings of horse equipment), give this book a shot. Otherwise, you may want to take a pass.