Wild Thing (Winnie the Horse Gentler, Book 1)
Summary
Wild Thing is the first book of the Winnie the Horse Gentler preteen series by Dandi Daley Mackall. In it, horse “gentler” Winnie Willis must grapple with not just an unruly Arabian, but also the pain of losing her mother and moving to a new city.
Assessment
The Winnie the Horse Gentler series is cheesy in all the right ways. From the near caricatures of the townsfolk (i.e. a 1970s-dressed boy called Catman, a pet shop owner named Pat [”pet”] Haven, etc.) to the classic must-save-the-feral-horse-before-dark plotline, this is not an incredibly deep series. But it shouldn’t be, and with Mackall’s down to earth writing style, the story moves from what could’ve been stuffy, tropish boringness to a story where a 12-year-old girl is allowed to be a 12-year-old-girl.
The theology has the potential to come across as un-nuanced or holding a “God, the Wish Granting Genie” type philosophy. However, taking a moment to scratch the surface and it reveals Winnie’s solid faith journey from disconnected and adrift to reconnected with her Heavenly Father.
Light-o-Meter
Writing Style: 6 out of 7 Little Lights
Plot: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Worldbuilding: 6 out of 7 Little Lights
Characters: 6 out of 7 Little Lights
Theological Message: 4 out of 7 Little Lights
Overall: 5 out of 7 Little Lights
Talk
I promise the Shine A Light Today review series is not secretly “Ang’s Revisits to Her Childhood” series, but I did read some pretty sweet stuff as a kid. Winnie the Horse Gentler was among the hallmark book series of my youth, the cream of the crop as far as fiction went (right up there with the The Cat of Bubastes and *Star Trek…*I had a variety of interests). It was especially great because I was not much of a horse girl — this series was about as far as it went — but the books provided almost all of the explanations and extra tidbits of knowledge either in context or in the glossaries in the back.
This series shines in two specific ways: first, is Mackall’s fantastic, warm writing style. Honestly, the plot of each book is a little tropey as far as horse books go and very few writers can get away with naming each character in the series specifically after the animal they handle the best (my last name would probably end up being Ribbits or something like that). Mackall can, because of the way she frames the story through writing style. The whole world is a little cartoonish and little dramatic, but so is the narrator (Winnie).
Secondly: the series actually writes 12-year-old characters like 12-year-olds. Winnie is a bit immature, a bit whiny, a bit sassy and it makes perfect sense. She’s not bratty, but a literal child dealing with a mountain of emotional and spiritual baggage. This circles somewhat into a discussion about the book’s theology. I’ve seen it said before that the theology is little more than “Winnie uses God as a magic genie to grant her wishes”, and I can see where this is a concern. Most of Winnie’s initial prayers are, in fact, “hey, God, can I have this?”. However, things don’t go her way when she asks those prayers. It’s not until she submits to God’s will and surrenders to His love and grace that God blesses her with what she is looking for. God doesn’t always bless us in that way; sometimes our surrender is so that God can bless us with something different or the surrender is in and of itself a blessing, but sometimes in God’s love for us, we do get our heart’s desire.
Additionally, Winnie’s entire faith journey is about reconnection. She is trying desperately and actively to reconnect with not only God, but also the people around her. Part of “hey, God, can I have this?” is her rebuilding her prayer life. Is that the best strategy? Of course not, but, once again, she is a child, handling problems like a child. And she doesn’t get what she wants until she lets go. In that, the story’s theology is actually rock-solid and, more importantly, very age-appropriate. On top of that, it’s just a fun, easy series to read, especially for a slightly dramatic preteen or horse fanatic.
Wrap-up
Wild Thing is the first book of Dandi Daley Mackall’s Winnie the Horse Gentler series. Delightfully warm and cartoonish, the book has a deeper theology than most typical horse books, with an age-appropriate faith journey and satisfying ending.
Where to Enjoy
Amazon: Wild Thing (Winnie the Horse Gentler, Book 1): 9780842355421: Dandi Daley Mackall: Books
Barnes & Noble: Wild Thing by Dandi Daley Mackall, Paperback
Books-A-Million: Wild Thing, Winnie the Horse Gentler #1: Dandi Daley Mackall: 9780842355421
Christianbook.com: Wild Thing, Winnie the Horse Gentler #1: Dandi Daley Mackall: 9780842355421
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