A Tour of Fox Ridge Farm

Reviews of Shelley Peterson's Books

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PETERSON NOVEL INSPIRED
London Free Press, Saturday, August 14, 1999
Abby Malone by Shelley Peterson, The Porcupine's Quill, $14.95
Reviewed by Nancy Schiefer
Former Londoner Shelley Peterson is a writer of exceptional talent. Her first novel, Dancer, continues to be a Canadian best-seller and her new effort, Abby Malone, promises to surpass in popularity the engaging horse story that captivated young readers on its publication in 1996.
Obviously an animal-lover, Peterson writes with warmth and understanding of animals and their emotions and of those who are able to respond to them. In doing so, she has designed a compelling and suspenseful story that is difficult to set aside once it is begun. And in her title character Abby Malone, Peterson has fashioned a bewitching young girl whose intelligence and resilience do justice to this tautly woven tale.
Although plucky and able to fend for herself, Abby faces more problems than a teenager should have. Her mother, an alcoholic, spends most days in a stupor as Abby cooks, cleans, does the weekly laundry and tends her menagerie of sick or homeless wild animals.
Her most heart-wrenching problem, however, is her beloved father, Liam, a lawyer and former horse racer, who is in prison for larceny. Abby stoutly believes her father innocent of the charges, but must endure the meanness and gleeful taunts of classroom bullies eager to take advantage of her misfortune. And to add to the diminished family's distress, the mortgage on their farm is about to be foreclosed.
Abby is in the bad books both of her teacher, Miss Smithers, and of the principal, Mr. Edwards. She makes matters worse one hot June day when she bolts from Miss Smithers' droning grammar lesson to chase Pete Pierson's roaming cows from an adjoining corn field. That she does so with the help of the young quarter-horse mare she had long been admiring sets the stage for the adventures to come.
The mare, whose name is Moonlight Sonata was `the most beautiful horse that Abby could imagine. The little mare was silky and fine-boned, with long legs and an intelligent, pretty little face. Her mane, tail and legs were jet black and her healthy, glossy coat was dark brown; a true bay. Abby often watched her from her desk by the window, wishing more than anything to have a chance to ride her someday.'
As Peterson's lively tale unfolds, we learn that Abby is not alone. Pete and Laura Pierson, both in their mid-70s, have been long-time loving friends, loyal to Abby and her parents in their adversity.
Abby's best friend, Leslie, is also loyal, although she must communicate with Abby secretly. But best of all, Abby has the fierce friendship of her faithful coyote, Cody, a cub she had rescued when his mother was killed on the highway. The grey-eyed, rough-furred pet becomes a key participant in Abby's hair-raising escapades, an irresistible part of the book's animal lore. Peterson's astute and affectionate coyote is a charming creation, one who adds enormously to the story's appeal.
Abby Malone is an exuberant page-turner, a concoction for young adults that cannot help but please.
Interest mounts as Abby is twice accused of theft, as she visits her father in jail, agonizes over her Grade 8 graduation dress, is entered (on Moonlight Sonata) in a perilous Caledon Hills steeplechase, rescues Cody from a pack of hounds, encounters the dangers of hitchhiking and sets out, Nancy Drew-style, to solve the mystery of her father's incarceration.
Along the way, she wins and loses friends, trains her devoted horse, comforts Laura Pierson, who has been attacked by a cow, feels anger, elation and fear, faces defeat unflinchingly and, we hope, emerges triumphantly.
Sprightly Abby Malone has a charm reminiscent of L. M. Montgomery's young girls, of such intrepid problem-solvers as Jane of Lantern Hill and Sara Stanley of The Story Girl and The Golden Road.
She combines an adventurous spirit with sensitivity, common sense and a good degree of feisty courage.
Abby is a memorable character, well drawn by Peterson, whose knowledge of young people and animals is noteworthy.
Each of Abby Malone's 20 chapters is introduced with an aptly chosen quotation from Shakespeare. The book, which is illustrated with attractive line drawings by Marybeth Drake, is dedicated to Peterson's parents-in-law, Londoners Clarence and Marie Peterson, who, the writer declares, `inspire and uplift everyone they meet.' The countless young readers who will savour Peterson's eagerly awaited second book will agree that her story is indeed inspired, a delightful excursion along the adventurous paths of youth and a salute to those important to the author.
Nancy Schiefer is a London freelance writer
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PETERSON REACHES YOUTH
In Dancer, she tells the story of a young girl and her prize-winning stallion
London Free Press, April 1997
Dancer by Shelley Peterson
The Porcupine's Quill, $12.95
Reviewed by Barbara Novak
Within one month of its publication, this galloping first novel by London-born actor Shelley Peterson was already into its third printing. That's a pretty amazing literary feat, even for someone with as high a profile as Shelley Peterson, wife of former Ontario premier David Peterson. But Dancer, the story of a girl and her young horse, has all the key ingredients for a young adult best-seller -- adventure, suspense, violence, romance, the supernatural and even cameo appearances by members of the Royal Family.
When 16-year-old Hilary (Mousie) James wins the Fuller Trophy at the Royal Winter Fair, she and her horse, Dancer, are catapulted into an adventure that threatens to destroy them both. Her success leads to an invitation to perform in England for Queen Elizabeth. At the same time, her wealthy neighbor, Samuel Owens, wants to buy Dancer for his niece. But Mousie makes it clear that Dancer is not for sale. So Owens orders his hired man to steal the stallion. When that fails, he decides that if he can't have Dancer, no one will.
Owens' obsession pursues Dancer, Mousie and her mother, Christine, to England. There, the Queen also expresses an interest in acquiring Dancer. But unlike Owens, she demonstrates gracious understanding when Mousie explains that Dancer is much more than a horse to her. It was Dancer who helped her recover from the grief of her father's death. Mousie happily agrees to the Queen's solution -- that Dancer mate with the Queen's mare, Cassandra.
While in England, Mousie and her mother are housed at Clusters, a fine manor once the home of Arabella, a 19th-century woman who later died in a hunting accident. Arabella manages to reach into the present to protect Mousie and to lay her own ghost to rest.
In the course of her adventure, Mousie manages to come to terms with her father's death, and take a giant leap towards adulthood. Significantly, while in England she is addressed as Hilary rather than Mousie, which came as a relief to this reader who found her nickname most unlikely, given the strong, determined nature of her character. The passages in which Mousie mourns for her father are well done, poignant without being sentimental. We feel her loss. Similarly, we feel her almost psychic connection with Dancer. The intense nature of their communication is utterly convincing.
Peterson, who has ridden all her life, writes with knowledge and passion about the world of horses. She describes jumping events with loving detail and her prose sweeps the reader into the thundering excitement of the hunt. We are treated to a fascinating behind-the-scenes glimpse into equine competitions.
The plot, although it gallops along at a furious pace, is strained at times, but its strength is such that we are too busy turning pages to worry much about the occasional blip.
Dancer is a fine first novel from a promising new writer of young adult fiction.
Barbara Novak is a London freelance writer.
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A HORSE STORY, BUT MUCH MORE
Saskatoon Star Phoenix, May 1997
Dancer by Shelley Peterson
The Porcupine's Quill, $12.95
Reviewed by JanaLee Cherneski
Dancer isn't just an ordinary horse, he is a free-spirited so wild no one would purchase him. Eventually, he was bought by Hilary James and her mother. Hilary felt an immediate affinity for Dancer. A horse lover, she was looking for a horse to purchase but was despairing at ever finding one she and her mother could afford, since they had little money after the death of Hilary's father.
Dancer is allowed to roam freely on the James' acreage home of Hogscroft, located outside Toronto. He and Hilary develop an understanding and friendship. Hilary trains with him and eventually rides him in the jumping program at the Royal Winter Fair. At 16, she wins the Fuller Trophy and has attracted so much attention that she is invited to perform at a jumping exhibition for the Queen of England during a Canadian visit.
Hilary's success with Dancer also attracts unwanted attention, that of Samuel Owens, a hard cold man who wishes to purchase Dancer for his niece Sara. Denied by Hilary and her mother, Owens sends his hired man, Chad Smith, to try and steal the horse. Soon, the issue with Owens escalates as he decides that if he can't have the horse, no one can. There is no telling how far Owens will go to get what he wants...
Hilary's performance also attracts the attention of some of her school mates, in particular that of Sandy Casey, a handsome young man Hilary admires.
Any lover of horses is bound to enjoy this book; others will enjoy it as well, and begin to see horses in a different light. Peterson has combined elements of competition, deception, growing up and falling in love to create a story appealing to readers both young and old. The plot and events are intriguing and will immediately capture a place in the hearts of its readers.
Peterson weaves fantastic settings, plots and sub-plots to create a magical story. Readers feel as if they personally know the characters of the novel by the depth and personality Peterson weaves within each one. We come to love the good guys and hate the bad.
The writer discusses a wide variety of emotional issues: adults rekindling an old flame and falling in love, the first relationships of teenagers, emotions of both adults and young surrounding the death of a parent and loved one, to facing down issues of abuse and alcoholism.
Peterson's rich and vivid characters and her amazingly perceptive understandings of human emotions give this novel the extra sparkle and magic it needs to stand out above most of the rest.
JanaLee Cherneski is a grade 12 student at Holy Cross High School
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