The Georges and the Jewels

By Jane Smiley
Knopf Delacorte Dell, $16.99, 232 pages

Seventh grader Abby Lovitt’s father makes a living buying horses, re-training them, and selling them for a higher price.  His most persuasive selling point is that a horse is so gentle and well trained that a kid could ride it, the “kid” being Abby, who has never minded her after school chore of riding horses until a horse called Ornery George bucks her off.  Abby stands up to her strong-willed father for the first time in her life and refuses to remount, but she knows it’s just a matter of time until he’ll force her to face the dreaded horse. 

The Georges and the Jewels is a touching glimpse of ranch life in California in the 1960s through eyes of an honest, impressionable protagonist.  The book is Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jane Smiley’s first book for children and she’s done a fantastic job.  As in her novels for adults, in The Georges and the Jewels Smiley communicates harsh but true themes though subtle undercurrents.  Here, she’s catered to her newest readers by selecting a plotline with two elements young girls won’t be able to resist: horses and a gang of four middle school prima donnas.

Reviewed by Megan Just