Christa's Luck by Jennifer Grais and Michael Grais | Review Giveaway #TLCBookTours #ChristasLuck

Christa's Luck: The Story of a Girl, Her Horse, and The Last Wild Mustangs by Jennifer Grais and Michael Grais

Published: June 15, 2015

Publisher: Graisland Productions

Pages: 309

Received: for honest review with publisher and TLC Book Tours

Find Online: Amazon | IndieBound | B&H | Goodreads

Inspired by a real horse rescue, Christa’s Luck is a teen fiction novel about Christa’s love for an endangered herd of wild horses and how her special connection with them inspires her to look beyond her own unforgivable mistakes and try again. She rises up to become a horse advocate at fourteen, whose passion and heart move an entire town to take action.

"In Michael and Jennifer Grais’ YA novel, a 13-year-old’s fate intertwines with that of the legendary Lost Herd of wild mustangs that roam the canyons of Nevada.

Christa Cassidy knows that she’s lucky. She lives with her parents and older sister on a small ranch in a beautiful part of the world; she has a grandmother who loves her; and she’s expecting a baby sister before the end of the summer. She even has her own horse named Lucky. But like any other teenager, she’s suspended between childhood and adulthood, unsure of her place in the world, at odds with her family, and uncomfortable with the way she looks, talks, acts, and feels. She’s really only at home when she’s sitting on a horse—particularly when she’s trying to track the Lost Herd through the canyons around her home. But when something horrible happens to Lucky, Christa’s world is upended, and things only get worse when it becomes clear that the Bureau of Land Management intends to round up the mustangs. With the help of a strong, troubled horse named Jenner, Christa is determined to figure out what’s going on. She soon finds that she must rein in her own passions as well as her horses, and that she won’t accomplish anything without friends and help." Kirkus Reviews

In the vein of The Horse Whisperer and the Black Stallion, Christa’s Luck is an epic adventure story of courage, friendship and freedom.

The main reason I said yes to reviewing this book is that I have a young niece who is into horses and riding. I thought this book would bring me into her world and help me understand her love for horses. And I think it did just that. I'll be passing along my copy of the book to her - I hope she'll enjoy it as much as I did.

Christa's Luck is about a young girl who adores riding and enjoys watching the wild mustangs run free on the Nevada ranges. She loves seeing them running and their manes flying behind them. She longs to feel that free and riding helps her imagine she flying along beside them, the wind in her hair, the sun on her face and no cares in the world. Christa is on the hunt to see the Lost Herd for herself. It's been rumoured that they don't exist, but she feels deep down that they must be out there somewhere.

As luck would have it, she finds them not once but three times (alone and with family). She's drawn to them in ways she cannot explain and she feels the need to help keep them free.  The round ups that have been secretly taking away the mustangs have to stop and Christa is determined to make it ahappen. She is adamant that the Lost Herd stay free and will do anything to see it through.

This story shows how a young girl can have such conviction and courage in the face of doubt and uncertainty. It shows trust that is earned, not taken. It shows that determination and will power can give you strength. And it shows how love and family can help you reach your dreams. I hope that my niece will take away all of those lessons from this book when I show it to her. I hope this book will help her when making decisions and show her that even if you make a poor decision, that you can try again and do better. Never give up.

I'm also impressed that I could pick up a little riding lingo and hope that I can sneak a few words in here and there to show off to my niece. Looking forward to watching her at her next horse show and seeing a little of Christa coming through. 

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About the Authors:

Jennifer Grais is a singer-songwriter who recorded several albums in Los Angeles and Nashville and toured as Jackson Browne’s background singer.  When she met Michael and they moved to the rural area of Topanga Canyon, CA, her childhood passion for horses was rekindled. She completed a year-long program of study with Linda Kohanov, best-selling author of “The Tao of Equus”, and “Riding Between the Worlds,” and began exploring a deeper relationship with horses. In December 2006, she was captivated by footage of a horse rescue that took place during a flood in the Netherlands at the hands of women riders. The drama of the rescue inspired the novel, “Christa’s Luck,” a young adult novel co-authored by Michael Grais. Research for the novel exposed Jennifer to the unfolding drama of the wild mustangs in the western United States and became the primary plot of the book. Read more about Jennifer and the inspirations behind Christa’s Luck.

Michael Grais has written and produced movies of domestic and international acclaim including Death Hunt, Poltergeist, Poltergeist II, Marked for Death and Cool World and more. Michael has also contributed to the book Why We Write and has taught filmmaking at University of New Mexico and in various workshops abroad. After attending New York University’s Film School and Emerson College, he earned his MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Oregon. Read more about Michael Grais.

Michael and Jennifer currently live in Northern California with their horse, Solo and two cats Francesca and Finnegan.

For more information about the wild horse issue in America, please read Return to Freedom and Love Wild Horses.

Christa's Luck Website