Whirlwind by Alison Hart

Whirlwind Reviews

• 
  Annie

  Ok, so we’ve gotten just a liiiiiittle bit less edgy since
  Shadow Horse. I’m pretty sure a pot-bellied pig named Rose didn’t literally “stomp her stubby legs and cry, ‘Feed me, feed me, FEED ME!’” ( << Regrettably, this is a direct quote.).
  
  But we still have our fair share of edginess. Killer buyers (yes, sick horses are sometimes actually not sold to 12-year-old girls who will nurse them back to health and save them with magic and TLC), meth cookers, posh but potentially insane insurance investigators who walk around in heels but carry knives (???)- yes, Alison Hart maintains her grip on far more coolness than pony books are usually allowed to wield.
  
  Then there’s this weird part where Jas inexplicably makes fun of Twilight (without mentioning its name, of course). It just feels out of place and kind of petty?
  
  Also, Alison Hart really really likes tan people. Like, whenever she wants to give the impression someone’s a hottie, she just says they’re tan. Obviously, we can assume from this that everyone in this book is white, because this is TeenHorseBookLand where:
  
  *everyone is white and thin
  
  *protagonist is brunette and a natural with horses
  
  *every horse is chestnut and either a Triple Crown winner or a Grand Prix jumper, depending on the series sport of choice
  
  *bonus points for evil blonde girls ruining BrunetteWonderRider’s life. However, Alison Hart gets a lot of credit for making BlondeBitch merely annoying and vain, not evil, and for endowing BrunetteWonderRider with the good sense to recognize BlondeBitch is mostly a nice person and that BrunetteWonderRider only hates BlondeBitch because she’s jealous of her good looks and superior ability to flirt with HotHunkOfHorseLoverGoodness.
  
  Anyway, I liked this one. It was a nice sequel. We get some good character development- Jas definitely ups her self-reflectivity game and muses about what a dick she was before Whirlwind ‘died’ and how it might have been the greatest thing that ever happened to her. Probably the shittiest thing for the horse that died, but hey. She’s fourteen. One can only expect so much emotional breadth.
  
  Plus we find out some rather interesting facts that flesh out some other characters- like the fact that Hugh must have seen Jas’s grandmother (his housekeeper) as a sort of mother figure, because she “forced him to be human” and after she died he got meaner.
  
  It’s got a weird sense of humor, too.
  Jas: “This rum cake is to die for!”
  Mrs. Quincey: “You’re right, dear, it is to die for. It was Mr. Quincey’s last meal before his fatal heart attack.”
  Um, okay…
  
  We get some questions answered (Shadow Horse came out in 1999. I probably first read it in like, 2003. That means for FOURTEEN YEARS I have been unable to get a proper night’s sleep because of these questions burning a hole in my skull).
  
  1) We find out what went down between Miss Hahn and Hugh all those years ago. They were friends until he loosened her horse’s girth before a show so she slipped off and injured her leg, and he won.
  
  2) We find out who the mole is (by the way, why is everyone so skeptical and insistent that Jas is paranoid when she says there’s a spy? Hugh knows things he shouldn’t know, obviously he has a spy on the farm! This is perfectly sensible of Jas and not at all paranoid.) It’s Mrs. Quincey! She’s Hugh’s aunt, and she’s well-meaning but just a very chatty lady.
  
  3) And yes, most importantly- we do actually get to find out the answer to the almighty What Happened To Whirlwind? She was sold to a farm in Florida, where she was well-cared-for and she and Jas are reunited at long last.
  
  HOWEVER. I am left with some new, unresolved questions.
  
  1) Will They, Won’t They?- times three, since we have Miss Hahn/Dr. Danvers, BrunetteWonderRider/HotHunkOfHorseLoverGoodness, and Mrs. Quincey/Jas’s grandfather all steaming up the pages. We never find out if any of these couples will get their shit together and figure it out! The Hahn/Danvers pairing gets barely any air time, and nothing really happens. BWR/HHOHLG gets a lot of discussion, but it’s a lot of back and forth; the last thing that happens between Jas and Chase is they have an argument, she leaves for Florida, and while she’s there she muses on how she regrets their argument and really misses Chase. We don’t find out if they make up when she gets back, if they finally, actually get together. Nope. Unresolved. And then there’s killer-rum-cake Mrs. Quincey and Jas’s grandfather. Also no resolution there. Will he forgive her for accidentally being the mole? Have they moved on from their respective deceased spouses to start a relationship with each other? I guess we’ll never know.
  
  2) Does Jas get to keep Whirlwind on Second Chance Farm after the trial and shit?
  
  3) Does Hugh go to jail?
  
  4) Since she wasn’t the mole after all, where the fuck, in fact, did Lucy get that cherry-red Mustang convertible from?
  
  Sigh. I guess I have fourteen more years’ worth of sleepless nights ahead of me. You tease, Alison Hart. You. Tease.
  
• 
  Alison Hart

  Hey, I'm the author so my rating isn't fair because of course I love this book!
• 
  Robert Kent

  
  
  And now let’s talk Whirlwind. To be fair, Whirlwind is actually a book for teens, or a young adult novel, or possibly even a tween novel. Some of you may remember that a few weeks ago we discussed Emma’s River, a middle grade novel by Alison Hart. If you don’t remember that, here’s the link.I’m trying to leave YA books to the Young Adult Ninjas out there, but I thought reading both types of books by the same author might provide a nice discussion for the differences between the two genres (as though I needed an excuse to read a new Alison Hart book).
  
  Unfortunately, trying to pin down exact definitions of middle grade or young adult books is like trying to pin down the exact definition of a literary novel. Everybody knows what you mean, but no one has a definition that is exactly like anyone else’s. I’ve read varying estimates, but generally a MG novel is 25-60,000 words and a YA novel is 50-90,000 words, and a J.K. Rowling novel is as long as she says it is. MG novels star characters that are 10-14 years old and YA novels star characters that are 13 to 19 years old. MG novels typically watch their language, have no sexual content, and usually steer clear of drugs and alcohol. YA novels can follow similar guidelines, or they can throw them out and write as filthy a book as they like (lucky!). For such a book, check out Courtney Summer’s brilliant Cracked Up To Be.
  
  Now then, even as I write these very loose definitions, I am sure someone will be planning to correct me in the comments section (please do). Better book fans than I have tried to set definitions and failed, so let’s just talk about the books at hand.
  
  The protagonist of the 263 page Whirlwind is thirteen year-old Jas Shuler (which makes this an early YA, perhaps even tween). The protagonist of the 142 page Emma’s River was ten year-old Emma Wright. Both girls love animals, horses in particular. Emma was outraged that her horse, Twist, was being mistreated by deck hands on the steam boat. Cruel social circumstance separated Emma from Twist and she spent the novel fighting to reunite with her horse. Jas is outraged that her horse, Whirlwind, is being mistreated by cruel race horse insurance scammers. Jas spends the novel fighting to reunite with her horse. I don’t mean to suggest that the books are the same, only that there are clear similarities.
  
  And why wouldn’t there be? The same fantastic writer is responsible for both.
  
  The thing to notice is the difference in details. For example, both books feature romantic subplots, but Emma and the handsome boy who challenges her as he helps her with her horse are really nothing more than friends. Jas and the handsome boy who challenges her as he helps her with her horse is always looking deep into her eyes and puckering up his lips. Do they kiss? I would never spoil that for you, Esteemed Reader. You’ll have to read the book to find out.
  
  But still, it’s worth noting that ten is too young for snogging in books and thirteen is perhaps acceptable for snogging. Not that Alison Hart has much interest in devoting much of the book to romance, as evident in this editorial aside from Whirlwind: “Jas flipped the page in her novel. It was about a girl’s infatuation with a vampire, only the girl acted so stupid and in luv, Jas couldn’t concentrate on the story.” Hmmm, I wonder what book Jas was reading.
  
  A more subtle difference between the books is in the type and severity of danger the two protagonists get in while on a mission to save their horses. Emma is chased around by deck hands and rude adults who do not understand how important her horse is. Cruel adults threaten to murder Jas’s horse. Emma has to contend with a steam boat disaster and is nearly run through by a railroad spike. Jas is stalked and threatened by an adult male who might just murder her. Middle Grade readers would not tolerate this beast terrorizing a ten year old. They would turn on the writer. However, make that girl thirteen or older, and it’s perhaps a fairer fight that will excite readers and keep them turning pages.
  
  Another thing to notice is that the greater length of Whirlwind allows for expanded secondary characters. There are plenty of secondary characters in Emma’s River, but they are kept brief and the main focus is their interactions with Emma. In Whirlwind, there are more secondary characters and they are able to have their own more developed subplots that are related to Jas’s situation, but are not strictly about Jas. They have romances and work problems and things they’re working through. They don’t get their own separate chapters, but they are allowed to take some of the spotlight from Jas.
  
  There are other differences, but I don’t want to finish this review without saying that Whirlwind is a great book and worth your $7.99. Alison Hart wrote a few Nancy Drew novels and it shows. The mystery at the center of Whirlwind is a corker and it will keep you guessing until the very end. More, you’ll care about Jas and Whirlwind and before you notice it, you’ll have read the last page. You’ll be sorry it’s over, but relieved that Hart has left things open enough for a third go-round.
  
  The last thing I want to say is to again express my admiration for Hart’s keen ability to weave factual information into her fictional narrative, thereby establish authorial authority. The worlds Hart creates are authentic and suspension of disbelief is made possible by her complete knowledge of those worlds. Here are two perfectly written details slipped seamlessly in the text to achieve that effect:
  
  “The hay supplier just called. He’s out of Hay. I’ve been calling around, but because of the drought, hay’s in demand. Everyone wants too much money. And folks keep calling about horses they want us to take, because they have no grass and can’t afford to feed them.”
  
  “Scam artists like Hugh Robicheaux are careful and clever. We just recently shut down a scheme where racehorses were being sold for inflated prices. An agent and appraiser would place a high value on a horse, even though the actual money changing hands between the previous owner and the new owner was way lower. Based on the appraiser’s value, the new owner could insure the horse for the inflated price. If the horse injured itself on the track or proved not to be a winner, it was killed.”
  
  Visit me at
  WWW.MIDDLEGRADENINJA.BLOGSPOT.COM to read an interview with the author, as well as other writer interviews and book reviews.
• 
  Abby

  Personal response:
  I really liked this book because it has to deal with animals. I liked how Jas and Chase have a steady going relationship. I also like how ms. Hahn helps Jas even though she isn’t related to her.
  
  Plot summary:
  In the beginning of this book Jas and Chase start off by doing chores. Jas keeps reliving that moment when she attacks Hugh. Jas has to go to court to talk about how much longer she is on probation. Jas and Ms. Hahn are searching for a horse called Whirlwind that Hugh “killed”. Once Jas get her probation ankle bracelet off she and Ms. Hahn try to find Whirlwind because she is alive, Hugh killed a ringer horse. When they go to find Whirlwind they find out Hugh killed the only source of information that they could get. When they go to check this guys house Jas finds a horse delivery sheet in the dog house. Near the end of the book Jas and Ms.Hahn's lawyer travel to Florida to get Whirlwind back. While in Florida they find Whirlwind but Hugh follows them and releases Whirlwind into a hurricane. Hugh ends up knocking himself out on the driveway when he goes to leave. Jas goes to find Whirlwind and when she does she has a huge gash in her side. At the end of the book Jas and Whirlwind end up to Second Chance Farm together.
  
  Characterization:
  Jas is a teenager who lived with her grandfather until she attacked Hugh with a hoof pick then she had to go live with a foster parent, Ms. Hahn for a little bit. Jas and her grandfather end up living in a mobile home on Ms. Hahns property. Jas also starts a relationship with Chase. Chase is a guy who work on Ms. Hahns farm. Chase starts to fall in love with Jas. Chase is charming and caring but he tends to say things at the wrong time.
  
  Recommendation:
  I would recommend this book to anyone who likes horses. I would also like to recommend this book to anyone who read the book Shadow horse. I gave this book five stars because I really liked this book. It was and all around good book.
  
  
• 
  Audrey_With_Books

  This books was a great mystery! I'm not really in to the mystery sort of books, but this book was great! Whirlwind is about a girl (Jas) who tries to find her horse that the evil guy (Hugh) faked the horse's death for money, and sold her away to someone who was clueless of what had happened. The story has a great plot line, great characters, and it was a great story! I can't wait to read the sequel Shadow Horse as soon as posible!
• 
  Shawnee

  Good but predictable book. :-)
• 
  Giselle Schneider

  Seat-Gripping Horse Mystery!
  
  Whirlwind is a seat-gripping horse mystery filled with romance... and dogs. Can't forget dogs in this story about rescuing animals and falling in love. Readers will want to venture to the very end without pause just to learn the truth about what happened to Whirlwind and how all the relationships will come together.
  I dropped a star due to the following issues:
  1. Chaper 1 starts with a three page info dump about Shadow Horse and Jas' situation. The same thing comes up with Aladdin later. Even worse, the author continues to remind readers of all this information over and over and over, like we might forget.
  2. What year does this series take place? Shadow Horse published in 1999 with paperback in 2001. Whirlwind published in 2010. Jas and Chase are 14-years-old. In Whirlwind, there is a comment about not being born in 1990. There is also a reference to Twilight and the blackberry smartphone. Plus, the Florida hurricane is called Hilda, which hit October 3, 1964 off the coast of Louisiana.
  3. No epilogue to conclude anything. We don't know what happened to Hugh. We don't see Whirlwind at Second Chance. We don't see Jas and Chase get back together. We don't see Diane and Danvers get married. We don't see Karl and Quincy move further in their relationship.
• 
  Twyla

  My favorite part was when Jas had found Whirlwind. My least favorite part was when Hugh threatened Jas, and when he had trapped her in Whirlwinds stall and put Whirlwind outside during a hurricane. I didn't really like how it ended, without showing what happened; whether or not Jas actually got to keep Whirlwind, what happened to Hugh and if he was found out for his crimes or not. There should be another book that comes after this one, but I don't think there will be, after eight years.
• 
  Haley Cunningham

  I wanted this book to be so much better. I loved the first one as a kid, and when I found out there was a sequel, I desperately wanted to find out what happens to whirlwind. This book ended up being nothing but has whining, asking about whirlwind every 2 sentences, and a pretty half hearted ending. The ending felt so rushed in the last 15 pages. Glad I know what happened to whirlwind, but this book pretty much ruined the series for me
• 
  Nikki Day

  I loved the first book and was so excited when this came out, as I never expected a second. I was disappointed with the way the storyline went and just could not get into it. I forced myself to finish it and the ending left me dissatisfied.
• 
  Elsa Grace

  I'd like a third!
• 
  Gracey

  I am in love with this book it was even better than the first part I hate is that there’s not another book in the series!!
• 
  Clare

  Jas Schuler loved her horse Whirlwind more than anything. So, when she went out to ride her, and found her lying dead in the paddock, she was shocked. Whirlwind died of poisoning,but she knew that her grandfather who also took care of the barns grounds cleaning would have seen the deadly yew,and gotten rid of it. So, the only other one to blame was her trainer Hugh. She attacked him, and got sent to juvy, they sent her then to a foster home, of a another barn, and Jas now loves it there, but the best news of her life had yet to come, WHIRLWIND IS STILL ALIVE!
  Whirlwind was an amazing sequel to the book Shadow Horse. I love horses, and I hate seeing horses die, but I loved how you thought Whirlwind died, but she never really did. I also loved Jas in this book. I loved how much she loved horses, and I loved her boyish personality. I also loved the setting of this story. I liked how it took place at a run-down farm, and a lot of rescue horses just grazing around it made it cool too. I really liked Alison Hart's writing in this book especially. This might be one of that few sequels that was actually better than the first book.
  I recommend Whirlwind the sequel of Shadow Horse to anyone who likes horses, or mysteries.
• 
  Taylor Geare

  Whirlwind, written by Alison Hart, is an entertaining mystery book including an equine theme (horse lovers dream!), a little romance, mystery at every corner, and our main character: Our spunky Ms. Jas.
  After discovering her beloved Shadow to be the believed to be dead show jumper Alladin, she's close to giving Hugh what he deserves. A sentence from the court for some time in the slammer. But before her, her Grandfather, Ms. Han, and her (maybe more then) friend Chase can blow Hugh out of the water and expose him for the snake he really is, they have to find the missing link. Her beautiful mare Whirlwind. See, Hugh had killed a wringer (an identical horse) to make it look like Whirlwind was dead, then shipped her off to who knows where, making off with the insurance money and however much her new buyer payed.
  Jas is beyond eager to get her beloved horse back, but will it really be that easy?
• 
  Ivy

  This book was just as excruciatingly suspenseful as the first! As Jas went on her desperate search for Whirlwind, a horse everyone thought died, I just couldn’t get out of it. Read it in about two hours, in fact. I did get sort of mad that we didn’t hear from Chase again at the end of the book, and will be sort of irked if I find out there’s no sequel planned. I know this book came out eleven years later than its first, so I’m also hoping I don’t have to wait that long—I hate waiting for books.
  
  Anyway, a great mystery, with a splash of young romance. And a great book for anyone who loves animals, especially horses!
  
• 
  Caroline

  Whirlwind was a phenomenal book! I was appalled when I realized I had fallen asleep reading it... it was that good! I couldn't stop to go to bed!
  
  I thought Shadow Horse was slightly better, but I still loved Whirlwind! It would have received 4.5 stars if that was possible. It left off at a cliffhanger(ish) moment... I mean, some things were concluded, and it could have been even worse, but there were still some doors left ajar for many possibilites.
  
  
  I hope Hart decides to write a followup about Shadow and Whirlwind's lives together!
• 
  Kimberly B.

  THIS IS AN AWESOME SEQUEL ALTHOUGH I WISH THERE WAS ANOTHER SEQUEL ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED IN HER LIFE WITH CHASE OR MS HAN OR EVEN HER TRIALS!!!!
  **spoiler alert** i wonder how at the end and middle of the book Hugh knows where has is and why he always intimidates her. I love how at the end whirlwind was saved from Hugh and how marietta the investigator helped.
• 
  Christina

  I loved this one too. It was as great as the first book! :)
• 
  Lauren

  Great book
• 
  Kaitlyn S

  Got it for Christmas last year, and I finished it in a day. It was a good book, but the ending wasn't very good.
• 
  Martha Ann

  This is the sequel to shadow horse. It was also a really great book. I like the first one a lot better.
• 
  Rachel

  It was the sequel to Shadow Horse... It was really amazing and a great real mystery. Things you would never expect!! It took me about half a day to read.. Really really good
• 
  ginger barker

  Great
  
  I loved this book it was awesome but u should read shadow horse first otherwise it is confusing but overall is really great book