The Saddle Club: Horse Power by Bonnie Bryant Ages 9-12 144 pages Yearling January 2007 Paperback     The Saddle Club books, a series for young readers, emphasize the value of friendship, positive thinking, problem sharing and overcoming differences with the support of good friends. Horse Power focuses on three best friends – twelve-year-olds Stevie Lake and Carole Hanson and thirteen-year-old Lisa Atwood - preparing for an upcoming gymkhana, a three day event of relay games and races where young riders compete on horseback - in this case, the local Pine Hollow Stables. The girls are preparing for their upcoming event, sure they will achieve the highest honors - that is, until the instructor informs them of a change in plans: there will be a fourth member of the team, Stevie’s brother Chad. Contrary to their expectations, Chad is entertaining, if a little too enthusiastic. In fact, the girls soon realize Chad has a crush on one of them. Unfortunately, Chad is nearly hopeless in the saddle, although he does his best to keep up with the more experienced riders, his sister included. Kate Divine introduces a bit of mystery into Horse Power, a new friend Carole meets while visiting Quantico with her father. Carole is full of stories about the summer camp at Pine Hollow. But later, she is mortified to learn that Kate is an experienced horsewoman, a championship rider. Even stranger, Kate never said a word about her own skill while Carole rambled on about her friends and the gymkhana. Planning a weekend soon at Carole’s home, Kate’s silence remains a mystery, but Carole, Stevie and Lisa learn the reason behind their new friend’s reticence when Kate comes for a visit to Carole’s home. The girls come up with a solution to Kate’s dilemma and prepare to ride as a team, Kate filling in for Chad the hopeless. With crisp dialogue that encourages the development of social skills, the strange world of boys and the joy of riding, this story subtly reinforces the positive stereotypes of this age group, relatable to its audience and solution-oriented.   web reviews   Luan Gaines/2007 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)