Gabriel's+Horses

www.powellsbooks.com Gabriel's Horses by Alison Hart Reviewed by Amelia 1-22--12 __Gabriel's Horses__ by Alison Hart is an exceptional book for horsey or non-horsey people who like to read about adventure and the Civil war. The genre is historical fiction. The story is about a boy named Gabriel who is a slave and groom for a man called Mister (or in a slave's life, Master) Giles who owns a horse farm and many of the fastest Thoroughbreds in Kentucky. This story is a life through Gabriel's eyes. I liked Garbriel and his family, Mister Giles, Jackson, Jase, and of course all the horses. I like Aristo best, though. Forgive me. When Gabriel is chosen to ride a prize horse, TenPenny, to Lexington for a race, they're all worried about the Rebels One-Arm and his gang who were last sighted in the area. Typically, they come across them on the journey. Although Gabriel hid in the forest, One-Arm (who indeed, has one arm) spotted him and swore that he would capture the horse someday. Mister Giles had to pay him off to get him to move on. During the race, Jackson (Tenpenny's jockey) got a broken arm from another jockey so that Gabriel could ride the horse in the second heat of the race. What Gabriel didn't know was that Jackson had faked the broken arm, escaping only with a bruise, so that Gabriel's father could see his son ride in a race before he left to join the Union Army. Gabriel's father, Issac, had only joined because he was paid $300 to join, and with that, he bought his wife's freedom. He himself was already free. Gabriel won the race on Tenpenny, but Issac had been Woodville Farm's horse trainer, and so Mister Giles hired a new one- Mister Newcastle and his own personal jockey. Newcastle was a devil of a man who whipped and cursed horses to get them to work for him, and he beat Aristo (Gabriel's favorite stallion) because Aristo wouldn't be saddled. Mister Giles was informed of the beating, and Jackson left to Saratoga to be a famous jockey. What will happen to Gabriel, Aristo, and the horses, and when will One- Arm get his revenge for Tenpenny? Read the book to find out!

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