Amber Brown Horses Around ... by Paula Danzigner, Bruce Coville, Elizabeth Levy, Anthony Lewis (Illustrator)
Amber Brown is one happy camper. She and her best friend, Justin, are spending the summer at Camp Cushetunk. Learning to ride Cinnamon, the sweetest horse ever, is so amazing that Amber doesn’t even mind shoveling her poop.
Then Amber becomes the target of a series of pranks. Certain she knows who is behind them, Amber and her friends come up with the biggest prank ever to get revenge. But the outcome is not what they expect.
Turns out horsing around can lead to big trouble. But sometimes, Amber is surprised to learn, big trouble can lead to big changes for the better.
OUR REVIEW
I think I jumped in the middle or the end of the series of Amber Brown Horses Around by Paula Danzier, and fellow authors...but that was ok since I was brought up to speed with a few questions I had that were answered about her situations in her life and her friends.
I found the book very refreshing in the story line about the importance of understanding the emotions of the personalities of new and old friends, the little stress of those who you don't get along with, and the budding feelings that are coming to a new level with her best friend Justin, all so very true to life of a fourth grade student.
The dilemma of divorce and ending up with two sets of parents played an extremely important role in this book. Being sent off to camp by her Mom and stepdad was at first an exciting adventure, since seeing her best friend Justin was going to be the best part, as they had been separated I'm presuming from Amber's parents divorce.
Camp sounded good until Amber finds out that she will be bunking with her not-so much-school friend, Hannah. As camp life begins Amber realizes her love for a special horse, but when pranks begin to happen to Amber, she finally decides enough is enough, as she presumes who the prankster is. Could pay back be the answer?
A valuable lesson is learned in the book, as I'm not going to give it away... but let's just say that this is an amazing read for middle school kids since there are strong adult roles that are fair and just and very well established. I will say, at the end of the book, I welled up with tears at the end result...who knew?
