That's Not Hay in My Hair

New York City life had crammed sidewalks, gasoline-filled puddles, and angry taxi drivers, but Juliette enjoyed the towering sky-scrapers, the half-block walk to school, and the restaurant smells wafting into her bedroom. She had never cared for a horse, let alone a long-horn, when her mother announced their imminent move to a 300 acre ranch in Texas, where they would be caring for three horses, five dogs, twenty-five longhorns, and a cat ? all by themselves.Juliette couldn?t help feeling excited, even though she?d have to climb a hill to get a bar of cell-phone service. Soon she was running from bats and snakes, rescuing a calf from a twenty-foot ditch, medicating ponies, and having adventures so crazy it?s hard to believe they?re for real-but it all happened exactly how it?s written.Get ready for side-splitting laughs, heart-wrenching tears, and surprising life lessons learned down on the farm and shared by fourteen-year-old Juliette Turner. From School Library Journal Gr 5-7-After living in New York City, Jules and her writer mom, Emily, move to a 300-acre ranch Emily purchased in Texas after the sale of her first book. Jules soon learns that farm life is a far cry from life in the city. Her new small Texas town moves at a slow pace, close neighbors are a thing of the past, and raising animals proves to be more than challenging. With each chapter comes a new adventure as Emily and Jules reacquaint themselves with their horses, Maggie, R2, and Rocky, and their herd of longhorns. Unfortunately, Emily's horse, Maggie, develops founder (a painful condition affecting the feet of horses) and begins to decline in health. The plot progresses slowly, and the introduction of a new student, Minnie, at Jules's school holds promise for a subplot that never fully develops. As the book comes to a close, the pace accelerates, leaving Jules and her mom to face their most difficult decision yet. VERDICT Dedicated readers will overlook the slow progression of the plot and the overemphasized Southern dialect to experience the cycle of life and the hope that follows.-Susan Harris, Ridgeway High School, TN Review Jules and her mother moved to New York City when she was 5, so she doesn?t really remember the Texas ranch they left behind. But Jules is now 10, and her mom wants to return to her Texas roots. Instead of a cramped apartment, they are now living on a 300-acre ranch, complete with horses, dogs, and longhorn cows. Life is suddenly filled with chores, her grandparents? bickering, animals that need cared for, and wide-open spaces---but Jules? love of animals makes it a perfect fit. In this poignant mother-daughter story, Turner immerses young readers in ranch life and, to a lesser extent, the transition to middle school. Although the character development is uneven and the plot sometimes lacks direction, the sense of place is fully realized. Despite its rough edges, Turner?s novel will be well received by animal lovers and fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder?s Farmer Boy (1933) or Phyllis Reynolds Naylor?s Shiloh (1991). --- Melissa Moore -- BooklistNew York City life had crammed sidewalks, gasoline-filled puddles, and angry taxi drivers, but Juliette enjoyed the towering sky-scrapers, the half-block walk to school, and the restaurant smells wafting into her bedroom. She had never cared for a horse, let alone a long-horn, when her mother announced their imminent move to a 300 acre ranch in Texas, where they would be caring for three horses, five dogs, twenty-five longhorns, and a cat -- all by themselves. Juliette couldn't help feeling excited, even though she'd have to climb a hill to get a bar of cell-phone service. Soon she was running from bats and snakes, rescuing a calf from a twenty-foot ditch, medicating ponies, and having adventures so crazy it's hard to believe they're for real -- but it all happened exactly how it's written. Fiction based on real life experiences, 'That's Not Hay In