Talk about a serious reality check. This story seems so real it could be the life of your neighbor. Most books have happy endings, well not this one. It's all about broken promises and dreams that don't come true, the real hardships of life. Not full of fairytales and princesses. Set in the life of a preteen girl living on her family's horse stable. The ending wasn't to be admirered but that was just because it ended like real life story not one out of a story book. Everyone has reasons to lie and lives that get torn apart, nothing is ever what it seems.
Review/Description
When her older sister runs away to marry a rodeo cowboy, Alice Winston is left to bear the brunt of her family's troubles -- a depressed, bedridden mother; a reticent, overworked father; and a run-down horse ranch. As the hottest summer in fifteen years unfolds and bills pile up, Alice is torn between dreams of escaping the loneliness of her duty-filled life and a longing to help her father mend their family and the ranch. To make ends meet, the Winstons board the pampered horses of rich neighbors, and for the first time Alice confronts the power and security that class and wealth provide. As her family and their well-being become intertwined with the lives of their clients, Alice is drawn into an adult world of secrets and hard truths, and soon discovers that people -- including herself -- can be cruel, can lie and cheat, and every once in a while, can do something heartbreaking and selfless. Ultimately, Alice and her family must weather a devastating betrayal and a shocking, violent series of events that will test their love and prove the power of forgiveness.
