heathersbike's review
5.0
Terrific story, even if you're not a horse person. I know nothing about racing I didn't pick up in this book but it seems to me if your horse risks dying racing as a two-year-old perhaps that's not a good plan.
resslesa's review
5.0
Fantastic! Started off a little slow but the amount of injustice and the multiple court cases and amount of suffering the protagonist had to endure -insane! Happy for mostly resolved ending but damn so many struggles. Love the illustrations -lots of varied panel constructions and full page almost collage type images. A nonfiction stunning read. Can’t wait to share with students! Make sure they know to keep going. It gets great!
k_mysmes's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
5.0
I usually like to pace myself with graphic novels to I can take in the art as well as the story, but I was speeding through this like a spicy thoroughbred running the track! Very eye opening about the US racing industry. We need more people with Gail's ideals to make it better and more focuses about the welfare of the horses than about trying to make a buck.
sunscour's review
3.0
Just not for me... A lot of facts about horse racing, horse racing drugs and how lawyers work..
I think I was expecting something else.. I think if you are into horses then you will love this. Gail Ruffu is a hero and stood up for what she believed in, that is something I loved about this story.
I think I was expecting something else.. I think if you are into horses then you will love this. Gail Ruffu is a hero and stood up for what she believed in, that is something I loved about this story.
sherming's review
3.0
Monochrome graphic novel recounting of a true story about a female race horse trainer who is charged with stealing a horse to prevent it from being abused and probably killed. The story is compelling and informative. I'm surprise, though, that the author hasn't been sued for libel given the way the villains are depicted.
Good for high interest, low ability readers. Good for horse lovers.
Good for high interest, low ability readers. Good for horse lovers.
wispila's review
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
4.75
For a graphic novel about stealing a horse, the horses aren't all that glorious looking. Thats my only criticism of the book. The book itself does a fantastic work of criticizing the legal system and the racing industry. We are cheering for the underdog fighting for the benefit of the animal, but it seems like the world truly does not give them the chance to become the black horse to win...
nerfherder86's review
5.0
Excellent graphic novel about a woman who "steals" a Thoroughbred horse to save it from being further injured while racing, and the long drawn-out ordeal that ensues over years as she fights to keep the horse safe and to get her racing training license reinstated. The author is related to the subject of the book (they're cousins, I think), and he was intrigued by her story when she revealed that she was essentially a fugitive hiding a horse for years! The main point of the story is to show how cruel racing Thoroughbreds as juveniles, at age two, can be if the horse is not allowed to come along slowly and properly gain its strength, and is raced too often when not yet mature. Gail, the trainer, has been training "Urgent Envoy" using her humane methods, but the greedy lawyer with whom she partnered in buying the horse wants to race him too soon, eager only to win money. When the horse is injured, Gail wants to rest him, but the greedy partner says no, and she has no legal recourse because he owns a majority of the horse and outvotes her. So, she steals the horse out from under him! She endures years of poverty, arrests, and tons of legal trouble in her battle to be vindicated that her training methods were best for the health of the horse. I found it a fascinating read, as I wasn't familiar with her case although I knew a lot of the racing stuff already; I enjoyed seeing it in a graphic novel format, with excellent realistic line drawings in brown ink. The afterword is written by Gail herself to urge readers to protest racing 2-year-olds; she doesn't object to racing as a sport but just to this particular aspect of it.