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| Flying Changes: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Sara Gruen
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy New: $1.98
You Save: $11.97 (86%)
New (49) Used (39) from $1.98
Avg. Customer Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 9534
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 0061241091
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780061241093
ASIN: 0061241091
Publication Date: April 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
A Wonderful story woven around horses August 28, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
My friend gave this book for my birthday. We are both avid readers and she knew that I had read Sara Gruen's "Riding Lessons". I really enjoyed that book and I was delighted to receive the sequel, Flying Changes. With eager eyes I sat down that evening and read the book (well almost, I finished it up the following evening). It goes without saying that Ms. Gruen is a wonderful storyteller and she continued that ability in this story. I'm not expert on horses, but I thought that in this book she created a moving story with well crafted settings and high emotions. Annemarie, the single mother, pain is just one example. There are already excellent reviews posted and I won't go into detail and spoil the story for you if you haven't read the book. I will add that I found I could easily relate to the story and the characters. The ending wrapped everything with no loose ends and there's never a dull moment in this moving story.
Not rave but good August 26, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This book is a fast read, easy to follow and basically a good story. It is somewhat predictable; however if you love horses it will hold your interest.
 Quick read, hard to believe July 8, 2007
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
First off, let me say that this book is an enjoyable read - it goes by fast for the most part. I read it in a couple days and would call it a fun book, but not something I will likely pick up again.
That being said, there are a few issues with this book and story. As others have stated, it is hard to care for the main characters, Annemarie and her daughter Eva, as they are both immature for their ages, 40 and 16. Eva runs around like a spoiled 5 year old half the time. However, I would imagine a main reason for this is the complete lack of parenting skills on Annemarie's part. She is a mother without a backbone, unable and unwilling to discipline and stand up to her daughter. When Eva gets expelled from school, what does Annemarie do? Send her off to train with a top jumper trainer in the area. Yeah, what kind of punishment is that? The girl is in need of a good bit of discipline, and the character of Annemarie falls short as a mother. She is also useless as a girlfriend to poor Dan. She is whiny and self absorbed - it is hard to believe anyone would want to be with her. And when the idea of marriage comes up, she can't even discuss it with him? What kind of adult can't discuss this sort of thing with someone they want to marry? Perhaps she should do a little growing up first. Also, even though I did read the first book, Riding Lessons, it has been a few years since I did. The author alluded to events that happened in that story without explaining them ... that made it a little more difficult since I couldn't remember exactly what occurred in the last book.
Also, there were some equine related things that I could not get past. First off, if Eva loves horses so much, then why is she galloping around on frozen ground at dawn trying to jump paddock fences? And on an older horse too ... I can't even imagine allowing someone that irresponsible around my horses. Also, there is the whole issue of the Nokota horse. While I know Nokota horses are athletic and versatile animals, I have a very very very hard time believing that a top jumper barn would have one in their string of show horses. Hello ... warmbloods, thoroughbreds ... indian pony? I just don't feel that was a plausible thing in the book. My other main gripe is the whole Smokey Joe not letting anyone but Eva ride him ... and then she jumps on his back and starts doing canter pirouttes, passage, and advanced dressage moves. That is completely not believable to me as it takes YEARS of training to learn that sort of thing. And how is a horse who no one can ride going to get that kind of training? And how is this little girl of 16 who has never even competed before getting him to do these things? It is basically not believeable to anyone who has any sort of horse knowledge whatsoever.
If you can get past that, realize that the equine events are a little unbelieveable, and ignore the character flaws, then I would recommend this book. If you just want a good beach read, I would recommend this book. If you are looking for a book that is accurate and digs deep, I would recommend you look elsewhere.
 A great story June 27, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This was such a wonderful book! I could not put it down! Don't forget to read the first one before starting this.
 Not good May 10, 2007
8 out of 13 found this review helpful
Although I don't ride them, I really love horses. For that reason alone, I thought I would enjoy this novel, but I was utterly disappointed. Annemarie, the main character, is such a wimpy, ridiculous person --a 39-year old woman who's still acting as if she were a teenager--that I had trouble caring about anything that happens to her, including the tremendous curb ball she's thrown at the end. Her reaction to her boyfriend's birthday party celebration is just silly; if I were the guy, I would have left to never come back.
But the main problem is that Gruen takes for granted that the reader knows about Annemarie's past. I was baffled by most of the references to her and her horse's injuries, and expected that an explanation would come at some point. It never did. Only after I finished the book, I realized that in a previous novel, Riding Lessons, Gruen wrote about Annemarie. I probably would have to read that book to find out what exactly happened to Annemarie, but I won't bother. Sara Gruen shouldn't expect the reader to do so much work to understand her characters.
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