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Book Review By Katy
To Race a Dream by Deborah Savage

Theo is a thoughtful fifteen year-old girl with a penchant for writing and an overwhelming desire to race horses. As a young woman in the 1930s, however, Theo has little hope of achieving this dream. Theo relishes the location of her new home, which is right near the racetrack where the celebrity horse Dan Patch trains at the ranch of the mythical Mr. Savage. The family has recently moved to this small town in order to be closer to Theo's sister, Claudia. Claudia, unlike Theo, has every hope of realizing her dream of becoming a professional violinist. Theo can't help but feel that her family continually looks through her rather than acknowledge her own talents and needs.

As the school year draws to a close, Theo becomes close to Carl, a young Sweedish immigrant with a job on Mr. Savage's ranch. Carl admires Theo's writing and her passion for horses, and encourages her to take a job with Mr. Savage. To obtain the job, Theo disguises herself as a boy and lies to her parents about how she is earning money. As Theo chases her own dream, shocking events impede Claudia's pursuit of her own passion. As Theo comes to terms with her sister, she begins to fall in love with Carl, and watches her own dream change shape even as she chases it.


Plot & Themes
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - 1930's-1950's
Animal story Yes
Kind of animal:
Is this an adult or child's book? - Age 11-14

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status:
Age: - a teen
Ethnicity/Nationality

Main Adversary
Identity: - society

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 7 ()
Farm/Ranch? Yes
Farm/Ranch: - ranch - lot of descript of animal care

Writing Style
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
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