Racing Savannah

by Miranda Kenneally

They’re from two different worlds.
He lives in the estate house, and she spends most of her time in the stables helping her father train horses. In fact, Savannah has always been much more comfortable around horses than boys. Especially boys like Jack Goodwin—cocky, popular and completely out of her league. She knows the rules: no mixing between the staff and the Goodwin family. But Jack has no such boundaries.
With her dream of becoming a jockey, Savannah isn’t exactly one to follow the rules either. She’s not going to let someone tell her a girl isn’t tough enough to race. Sure, it’s dangerous. Then again, so is dating Jack..
Praise for Miranda Kenneally:
"Kenneally’s books have quickly become must-reads."—VOYA
"Fresh, fearless, and totally romantic."—Sarah Ockler, bestselling author of Twenty Boy Summer and Bittersweet on Stealing Parker

• ISBN10: 1402284764
• ISBN13: 9781402284762
• Publish Date: 3 January 2014 (first published 1 January 2013)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Sourcebooks Fire
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[Sam@WLABB]

I am so happy I decided to pick this series back up again. I had read the first book many moons ago, and the final book before it was released, and I was inspired by Keneally's upcoming release to read the rest. As expected, I loved Savannah's story!

There were many things that kept me flipping the pages, but I think Savannah was one of the biggest driving forces. I admired her passion for horses, and the fearless way she went after that exercise rider position. She was a young woman fighting to be taken seriously in a male dominated field, and when they tried to dismiss her, she didn't fight or argue, she stepped up and performed. Thus, she earned their notice and respect.

Savannah not only earned her place at the farm, but she grew so much over the course of the story. When she first arrived, her end game was to become an exercise rider. She would make decent money, and would be able to, perhaps, have more security than her father had been able to provide when she was younger. But, over time, her dreams grew a bit larger, and she began to see that there were more opportunities out there for her. As she recognized this, she dreamed a little bigger, and reached out for these new dreams.

It was fantastic seeing Savannah realize there was more out there for her, but I LOVED when she recognized that she deserved more. She was allowed to have these bigger dreams, and she was also allowed to have a relationship, where she was the other person's priority. I couldn't help but hear that line, "We accept the love we think we deserve" from Perks of Being a Wallflower, and thinking how important that moment was for Savannah. It didn't matter how much money she had or where she lived, she was worthy of more and deserved more.

The main characters in this book are wholly new, but loosely connected to characters from past Hundred Oak books. Rory, who became an important friend to Savannah, was Will's brother, and thus, I got to attend Will and Parker's wedding, which was accompanied by appearances of a few other Hundred Oak alumni. You know I love this stuff, and adore Kenneally for gifted us fans with these cameos.

I have yet to be disappointed by a Hundred Oak book. Kenneally never fails to craft great characters in these romances, which are filled with lots of friends, family, and personal growth.

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[liz089]

DNF 51%

I just don't like it. I could not get into it, I do not like or relate to the MC.. it seems boring, the love interest is dull and so is the romance.. Just mehh.. I can't be bothered with it any longer.

Kind of surprised how much difference there is between these books for me. One writer, different stories.. but I was really into the other ones, the second one a little bit less, but I still finished it in no time.. For this one I keep making excuses and try to continue, but I just don't care. Hopefully, the next one will be more enjoyable.

[KitsuneBae]

Actual: 3.5 sars

I really have to salute Miranda for being creative with her heroines' field of interests. A female jockey is so badass. I was really contemplating on giving this a 4-star review but it's not as good as Stealing Parker.

[Ashley]

Nose Graze — Young Adult book reviews

What I liked

I LOVED the horses This was easily my favourite part of the book. I used to be a huge horse person. I mean, I still love horses, but I used to take horseback riding lessons. I used to fantasize about owning my own horse (and I still think it would be cool!). So reading this book had me overcome with nostalgia. I wanted to be Savannah and live around horses and have some kind of "magic horse touch". I wanted it all!

I adored Rory and Vanessa!!! Honestly I thought their romance was cuter than Savannah and Jack's. Maybe it's because Rory is more my type than Jack LOL! Rory is kind of quirky with a bit of nerd in there. But mostly, I just loved how Rory and Vanessa came from two different worlds (poor farmhand vs rich family) but they gave zero fucks. They loved each other and it was so clear that they didn't care about consequences or expectations. They just went for it and it was SO.SWEET!!! There was never a time when Rory thought, "I don't deserve her because she's rich" and never a time when Vanessa thought, "He's not good enough for me". That just never crossed their minds.

What I didn't like

I think I got a little too excited about the horse aspect of this book, so I was disappointed when it moved away from that and focused on the romance. I mean, obviously this is a romance book with a horse racing backdrop. It's NOT the other way around. But somewhere in the middle of the book, I started wishing it was the other way around. I wanted it to turn into an epic Secretariat story LOL! Actually halfway through reading I was like OMG MUST START WATCHING SECRETARIAT NOW EVEN THOUGH IT'S 1:30AM. (And I did, and it was worth it. I adore that movie.)

So I guess that isn't really a 'negative' part of the book.. I just got too excited about the horses and wanted more than the book was going to give. I wanted Savannah to turn into some kind of epic horse jockey that wins tons of famous races.. well obviously that didn't happen.

I didn't like the constant "rich people vs poor people" thing. When I read the acknowledgements, I realized that Miranda Kenneally wanted this book to show that there don't have to be barriers between rich people and poor people. But honestly, I was SHOCKED by the barriers in this book. The way some people acted made me think I was reading a book during civil war times when there were massive gaps between blacks/whites and women/men. Just the way they acted about "status". Like Savannah hated rich people because "they look down on her" or "a farmhand can't date a farm owner". I mean, really? Do people actually act like that these days?

Some of Savannah's comments and judgments REALLY annoyed me:

Considering she's popular and wealthy, I don't think Rory will ever get her into bed even if he does behave like a perfect gentleman.

Crazy that she's interested in Rory, considering they come from very different lives. What will the other kids say when they hear about this? Will they wonder why Vanessa would date a farmhand?

I never even considered a girl like her might like my friend.

Maybe I was right before. Rich people are all alike. Only care about their goddamn money. Only care about what's best for them.

I HATED how Savannah was so judgmental. She just assumed that all rich people only care about status and money, and if you don't have either then you're not worth their time. Instead of judging people like individuals based on their personality or actions, she judged them based on their status.. which is exactly what she complained that rich people did (judge her because she's poor).

But what really got me was that it always seemed like Savannah was alone in this thinking. Like she said, "What will the other kids say when they hear about this? Will they wonder why Vanessa would date a farmhand?" Clearly Savannah is worried. But I got the impression that no one else cared. I don't think anyone at their school cared that Rory and Vanessa were dating, despite their differences. But for some reason it was always on Savannah's mind, and that irked me.

I know that this was supposed to be about growth and character development. Savannah starts out with assumptions about rich people and beliefs about "status", then she kind of gets proven wrong in the end. So ultimately it does end with a good message.. but I couldn't stand some of the parts in between. I was so ready for her to grow up and look beyond wealth.

But ultimately, I enjoyed it

Mostly I loved the horses, but overall I did enjoy Racing Savannah. It was a fun book to read. The romance wasn't amazing, but it was "pretty sweet". I kind of wish that Jack and Savannah's relationship was more like Rory and Vanessa's. Now theirs was adorable!

[Suz @ Bookish Revelations]

Miranda Kenneally is one of my favorite authors in the world of young adult contemporary literature. I really enjoy her writing style, memorable characters, and the realistic views on life that she imbibes her novels with. The way she cultivates a story and brings it to life in so many wonderful compelling ways, is one of the many attributes that I often look for in an author, when I'm choosing the next book I want to read. So, when I heard Racing Savannah was going to be the fourth book in her Hundred Oaks series, I was absolutely thrilled. My hands were literally itching to get a hold of this book and grab the chance to read it, which I did in pretty much one sitting.

In a lot of awesome ways, this book reminded me of the glory days of reading Catching Jordan for the first time. It brought me back to a really great place in my life that resonated with me on many levels. It just seemed to capture a lot of the essence and feelings that I had and amped them up even further, allowing me to enjoy Racing Savannah in a way that was both nostalgic and gloriously different. It's almost hard to put into exact words the feelings it gave me when I was reading, because the story was so rich and reminiscent of Catching Jordan, the quality of Kenneally's writing style, the development of the characters, and the story itself. There's something special about not just a book, but an author as well, when they can evoke such feelings from a reader like the ones I experienced while reading.

If you are looking for a book that is fast paced, wonderfully engaging, and full of heartfelt moments and characters that are easy to connect with, then Racing Savannah is the perfect read for that. It's a wonderful edition to the Hundred Oaks series and previous fans of Kenneally's won't be disappointed with it. Dealing with class and tackling the issues on thoughts and plans for college, you'll find the characters in this novel not only compelling, but easy to connect with on an emotional level. Full of so much spirit and heart, there's hope and love to be found within these pages that will woo even the most staunch contemporary reader. You won't want to miss out on this lovely edition to the series.