Scan barcode
A review by wordsofclover
Racing Manhattan by Terence Blacker
5.0
I received a free digital copy from the author/publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest feedback.
Jay lives with Uncle Bill, Step-Aunt Elaine and cousin and 'sometimes best friend' Michaela and all she really loves in life is horses. Following success in the illegal horse tracks, Jay runs away from the home she never felt she belonged in and becomes a 'lad' in a racing stables. Soon Jay meets Manhattan, a grumpy no-hoper mare who just needs a little bit of love. Soon Jay and Manhattan are a team to be reckoned with as Jay tries to prove to everyone that Manhattan is worth saving.
I LOVED this. It was a perfect mix of National Velvet, Blind Beauty and Seabiscuit. Jay is the typical trope of the no-hope teenager trying to find her way but I really enjoyed her own struggles with becoming a respected member of the yard. This book had a strong emphasis on a female lad/jockey trying to make her way in the racing world and we really see examples of the kind of sexism and sexist comments Jay faced while in the yard and when trying to be a jockey. The fact that Manhattan's owner, Prince Muqrib, had so much trouble in Saudi Arabia over the fact he was letting a female jockey ride his horse was very interesting and I felt it to be really realistic as well. Mrs Wilkinson's efforts in the stables and the horse training (and how she was talked about by the male lads) was also a great point. I had always suspected she was something more and to see her being disrespected as a 'busybody woman' when she knew more than everyone was annoying, yet I can see it happening in everyday life.
This book had more about jockey training with Jay's brief stint in jockey school and I really loved experiencing that with her. Considering this book is very focused on Hay being a female in a typically male world, I think I could have done with Jay having some stronger connections towards the other female characters in the book - forging a better friendship with Laura, a little more interaction with Auntie other than the 2-3 scenes we did get and while her relationship with Michaela did improve, there could have been just a bit more. I felt like Jay had a definite distance with pretty much every character in the book, who wasn't a horse.
I LOVED the ending, I was pretty much cheering Jay and Manhattan on and then the very, every end with Hat's fat belly, I felt like squealing. I don't know if there will be any more books about Jay and her racing adventures but I would definitely read them or at least read more of Terence's horsey books. The effort that went into describing everything in detail and the history of the racing and horses was terrific.
Jay lives with Uncle Bill, Step-Aunt Elaine and cousin and 'sometimes best friend' Michaela and all she really loves in life is horses. Following success in the illegal horse tracks, Jay runs away from the home she never felt she belonged in and becomes a 'lad' in a racing stables. Soon Jay meets Manhattan, a grumpy no-hoper mare who just needs a little bit of love. Soon Jay and Manhattan are a team to be reckoned with as Jay tries to prove to everyone that Manhattan is worth saving.
I LOVED this. It was a perfect mix of National Velvet, Blind Beauty and Seabiscuit. Jay is the typical trope of the no-hope teenager trying to find her way but I really enjoyed her own struggles with becoming a respected member of the yard. This book had a strong emphasis on a female lad/jockey trying to make her way in the racing world and we really see examples of the kind of sexism and sexist comments Jay faced while in the yard and when trying to be a jockey. The fact that Manhattan's owner, Prince Muqrib, had so much trouble in Saudi Arabia over the fact he was letting a female jockey ride his horse was very interesting and I felt it to be really realistic as well. Mrs Wilkinson's efforts in the stables and the horse training (and how she was talked about by the male lads) was also a great point. I had always suspected she was something more and to see her being disrespected as a 'busybody woman' when she knew more than everyone was annoying, yet I can see it happening in everyday life.
This book had more about jockey training with Jay's brief stint in jockey school and I really loved experiencing that with her. Considering this book is very focused on Hay being a female in a typically male world, I think I could have done with Jay having some stronger connections towards the other female characters in the book - forging a better friendship with Laura, a little more interaction with Auntie other than the 2-3 scenes we did get and while her relationship with Michaela did improve, there could have been just a bit more. I felt like Jay had a definite distance with pretty much every character in the book, who wasn't a horse.
I LOVED the ending, I was pretty much cheering Jay and Manhattan on and then the very, every end with Hat's fat belly, I felt like squealing. I don't know if there will be any more books about Jay and her racing adventures but I would definitely read them or at least read more of Terence's horsey books. The effort that went into describing everything in detail and the history of the racing and horses was terrific.