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After hours of incessant conflict and arguments the final epilogue has the main characters implausibly transformed into a saccharine-sweet happy family. Jojo Moyes has another hit novel on her hands, and just like ME BEFORE YOU, it would make a great movie. The story really draws you in, especially when she makes the main character realize that she has nothing left in the world but herself." The twelve year old girl sounds about 6, the lawyer's voice becomes so annoyingly whiney that I could see why her husband left her and Cowboy John is impossibly cliched. Moyes crafts each of these characters so skillfully, showing all sides, boils and all. There are times when you want to throttle all of them but then later want to applaud them for what’s truly in their hearts. Natasha was the most challenging to embrace as she was adept at hiding her feelings, presenting most frequently a rather cool indifference. But typical of a Moyes character, what lay beneath that exterior was complex. What binds all of them together, however is Boo, the most fabulous horse who Sarah loves unconditionally.
I also loved the parts of the book that focused on Natasha’s relationship with Sarah. Natasha struggles to bond with her, which I thought was actually very realistic and something that could very easily happen if you suddenly fostered a 14 year old girl that you didn’t know. Photo by TheOther Kev on Pexels.com Parts of the book I didn’t love as muchFifty years later, in a nearly forgotten corner of London, Henri and his granddaughter Sarah pay what they can to a salty American expat named Cowboy John—who’s barely keeping the stable out of the hands of the local villains—to board their magnificent horse, Boo. Henri teaches Boo and Sarah how to defy gravity as he did in France so many years ago and dreams that one day Sarah will be able to live the life he couldn’t—as an écuyer at Le Cadre Noir.
Jojo Moyes’ THE HORSE DANCER is a story about family, love, strength and determination, but most of all, it’s about a young girl’s guts and bravery.
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There are a few similarities between The Horse Dancer and her new novel, The Girl You Left Behind, especially the addition of legal aspects. I could see that the things Natasha dealt with in her job were reflective of some of the things going on with Sarah but I found them a bit distracting to the overall plot. When Sarah is trying to convince Thom to take her and Boo to France, she says “It was as if he could see everything, her dishonesty, her vulnerability, not in the way Maltese Sal had, as if he was stripping away every bit of her that was worth something, but with a kind of sympathy. It was worse” (p. 342). Why, for Sarah, is having Thom see her cry worse than her encounter with Maltese Sal? They certainly are where I live, in the middle of nowhere. In our last home more horses than humans came up our lane. I think the foxhunting ban may have thinned the equestrian landscape a little, but I do believe where there are teenage girls there will always be horses… What was your reaction to the formal and disciplined way that Henri raised Sarah? In what ways did this type of upbringing help her? In what ways may it have hindered her? Suddenly, circumstances have Sarah and Boo making their way to France on a wing and a prayer. They WILL make it and Sarah WILL keep her promise to Captain—she must. What an adventure!
Some characters spring into your imagination fully formed, and Cowboy John was one of them. He is a loose amalgam of many of the horsemen I knew—not conventional horsemen by many people’s standards but masters of their domains and usually highly characterful! I loved writing him. For me the parts of the book that I loved the most was Henri and Sarah’s passion for their horse. Their dedication to their dream of Sarah being able to ride in The Cadre Noir just like her grand father did. In parts of the book it shows that Sarah will do anything to keep Boo and achieve her dream of riding in Saumar. The books brought tears to my eyes when the book spoke of the bond Sarah and Boo had. Something I could relate to with my horse. I also really loved the parts about the Cadre Noir, of which I was vaguely familiar with before but now I have really read up about them. Having lost her mother at a young age and her grandmother four years prior to the start of the novel, 14-year-old Sarah Lachapelle lives a happy, quiet life with her grandfather, Papa, in a less-than-desirable area of London. Papa gives her a horse named Boo that they’ve been training in city parks and alleys. A once-famous horseman with the prestigious and elite riding school Le Cadre Noir, Papa received the highest honors as a young man. Now he’s training Sarah and Boo to achieve those same honors. Life is good until Papa becomes ill, and Sarah’s life totally changes.In this book, Natasha struggles with her feelings about motherhood. As the mother of three children yourself, did you experience any of the same feelings before they were born? Do you think it’s getting harder or easier for working women to balance a career and children? It was a bit of a slog in parts just due to the length of the book but in the end it was totally worth it. I’d give it 8/10. THE HORSE DANCER is not a young adult novel, but Moyes succeeds in creating a typical teenage character. Sarah tries desperately to do everything on her own without help, but she is just not mature enough, despite being headstrong and incredibly gutsy. She thinks she can handle everything that is happening to her, yet she needs adult supervision and boundaries. However, she is still very likable, and as a reader it is easy to see when she is trying her best to do the right thing. Moyes carefully balances her teenage nature with the depth of someone who is in over her head. Natasha, a young lawyer, is reeling after her failed marriage: her professional judgment is being questioned, her new boyfriend is a let-down, and she’s forced to share her house with her charismatic ex-husband. Yet when the willful fourteen-year-old Sarah lands in her path, Natasha decides to take the girl under her wing.
I thought the romance part was fairly predictable, and yes, the horse part of the story had some highly unlikely events taking place, but overall the book was entertaining and kept me interested even while I had the occasional fit of eye rolling at how easily I predicted certain bits of the storyline. There’s something in it everyone will love. . . The Horse Dancer is a heartfelt, gut-wrenching, emotional novel filled with moments of joy, excitement, and plenty of tears. In her signature style, Moyes has woven a complicated story about unforgettable characters you’ll contemplate long after you finish reading. . .a multi-generational story that will tug at heart strings and leave everyone reaching for the tissues, and for a hug. Trust me, this is the kind of book you’ll want to share with the ones you love.” –Bustle
Francesca's Qrac de la Font
Hoover is one of the freshest voices in new-adult fiction, and her latest resonates with true emotion, unforgettable characters and just the right amount of sexual tension. Cowboy John is such a great character. Can you talk a little about where the inspiration for him came from? When Captain is unavailable to Sarah, due to health problems, she is unexpectedly thrust into the lives of Natasha, a solicitor advocate and her soon-to-be ex-husband and commercial photographer Mac. Unsure and untrusting Sarah tries to weave her way through life’s challenges by keeping things close to the vest. All the while trying to navigate Natasha and Mac’s challenging relationship. Natasha’s not the most amicable character and you may struggle to connect with her. She comes across as cold and unreasonable towards poor Mac. Yes they might be getting divorced, but they have chosen to do something together and he seems a lovely guy despite his dubious taste in girlfriends. I wanted to give her a slap at several points; her mind was so changeable! Their relationship was a little too much rollercoaster and I think she has refined her writing since.
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