Bobbi J. G. Weiss

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher through LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers in exchange for an honest review.*

This is a cute, fun read about an American girl who is attending an equestrian boarding school in England, since her father has a job managing the horses there.

I enjoyed this book overall. I haven’t read anything else in the series, nor have I seen the show, but it was easy to pick up on what was going on and the characters’ relationships with each other. show more While the story would benefit from having that foundation to appreciate the nuances within it, I don’t think exposure to previous books/seasons of the show is necessary to understand the story in this book. I like that it’s written from the perspective from an American character, so she’s able to explain any British words/differences in culture without it seeming too pandering.

The one complaint I have is that Kit seems incredibly childish. Even accounting for her age and the age it’s written for, her reactions and thought processes just felt off.

Aside from that, however, this is an easily readable book that has some fun, quirky characters who are easy to root for. And, of course, it features horses and riding, so anyone with an interest in that will enjoy it as well.

Also posted on Purple People Readers. show less

The Fairly Oddparents is one of those cartoon shows that can be enjoyed by both children and adults. Timmy has two fairy godparents because Cosmo and Wanda are a married couple. His godparents mirror his real parents in that both Cosmo and Mr. Turner are cute, not very smart, and often incompetent; while Wanda and Mrs. Turner are smarter and more competent than their husbands. Timmy's oblivious parents don't appear in this book, though.

Timmy's wishes usually go wrong in spectacular ways. show more This time it's a bit different. Cosmo and Wanda are off to the Six Wands Fairy Resort while their wands are in for their 50,000-wish tune=ups. They give Timmy a box filled with tokens, each token good for one wish, before they leave.

Timmy leaves the box on his front steps while he goes off to play his new game with his two best friends, A. J. and Chester, who happened to come by. Unfortunately for Timmy, the box is found by Tootie. Tootie wears ugly glasses, has braces on her teeth, and has a hairstyle that does nothing for her. Tootie is crazy for Timmy, which horrifies him. Now we have our plot: Tootie uses the tokens to get Timmy to play with her in ways he finds utterly humiliating, such as being dressed as a lady. Will his best friends see him and assume it's all voluntary? Worse, will Tootie's big sister, Vicky, Timmy's evil, sadistic, monet-grubbing baby-sitter, see him? If you watch the show, you know the answers.

How will Timmy get out of this predicament? Can he get those wish tokens away from Tootie? Will Cosmo and Wanda suddenly pop in with their wands newly tuned, ready to rescue him?

I'm pleased to be able to report that this book is true to the spirit of the show in prose and illustrations. I recommend it to FOP fans. show less

This third in a trilogy of books is a cute tween story about an American girl who moves to England with her cowboy dad, where they are both starting fresh at the "Covington Academy" for equestrian arts. Her dad is the new riding instructor/trainer, and she has to cope with new culture--learning British terms for things as well as the boarding school milieu--a new school, and missing her recently deceased mom. Kit doesn't ride horses, either, ever since a terrible fall years earlier, and so show more she doesn't fit in to the horse-heavy world of Covington. But she, natch, falls in love with a particular horse, an outlaw whom nobody can ride (how many books with that premise did I read when I was a teenager? Let me count them by the dozens... :-) and together maybe they can become an accomplished horse-and-rider team. Along the way, Kit makes new friends, a frenemy, and has entanglements with some cute boys of course. Very cute story, very predictable, but, still a fun read. Since these books are basically novelizations of the scripts of the first few episodes of the Nickelodeon kids' tv series "Ride," (which a certain adult reviewer may or may not have hunted down and watched on Amazon Prime...ahem) they are full of typical tv characters (obligatory stern headmistress, multiculturally diverse but not very layered student characters), fun banter and one-liners, sitcom-worthy situations, and only a smattering of actual horsey stuff. I am sure that there is nothing incorrect about the horse terms and situations in the book, but they certainly seemed very simplistic and tv-horseified, if you know what I mean. You won't be learning much actual equestrian knowledge from these books or the show. But if you're looking for a cute horsey-related fish-out-of-water story to give to a tween, these are pretty fun. They're a quick read and have genuine heart. show less

Kit, an American teenager attending equestrian school in England, is getting used to life at Covington Academy. But she's still not exactly adjusted to life without her mother, even though Kit's widowered father, Rudy, might be moving on. And if Kit's favorite but unpredictable horse, TK, doesn't perform well in the upcoming House Cup, TK may be sent away from Covington in Ride: Competing for the Cup by author Bobbi JG Weiss.

You don't have to be familiar with the related television show to show more enjoy this second Ride novel, but it'll help a lot if you read Book One first.

I was prepared for this novel's measure of corniness, and as with the first book, the style sometimes felt more middle grade to me than young adult. But, hey, YA books have levels, so I think tweens and some younger teens can get a kick out of this.

It took me longer to get into this one, as something about the plot and/or emotional development felt a bit disjointed to me. I'm glad I stuck with it, though. It's a worthwhile read overall, rather hilarious at times and rather touching at others, and Kit learns some important lessons. Also, while one twist comes too suddenly out of left field (unless I missed something earlier in the story), I like that I couldn't predict the story's every turn.

Now, the abrupt ending in a tough spot definitely requires another book to resolve it. Not my favorite way to end a novel, but I'm invested enough in Kit, Rudy, and a couple others at the academy to have a genuine interest in Book Three. show less