Ponder: Pony

Pony, by R.J.Palacio ©2021 had been resting inconspicuously on a shelf in my family room for about the past two years, having been bought on an impulse at Costco. I have a nearly eight-year old granddaughter who is quite horse crazy and decided to pre-read the novel before giving it to her. I came across this interesting dream-horse blog post about why many girls are indeed horse-crazy. The phenomenon is quite common. I had to chuckle when one Psychology Today reference stated:

 With horses, women are practicing the same skills they use to train their boyfriends and children.

Pony is intended for a young adult audience, and the author is well praised for her book Wonder, which I thought was awesome enough that I rated it five stars. Disappointedly, even when I shifted my mindset to reflect that of a young adult book, I thought Pony was mediocre at best. Although the premise was intriguing in Amazon's description...

The bestselling author of Wonder returns with an enthralling adventure about a boy on a quest to rescue his father, with only a ghost as his companion and a mysterious pony as his guide.

... the role of the pony in the book was not nearly as major as the title might lead the reader (or the purchaser) to believe. In an Amazon review, even a 10 year old reader suggested the book be renamed, "Ghosts" or "Mittenwool".  Pony read more like a western adventure to me than an equine story at all. I had higher expectations from the author and the title.  At the risk of appearing sexist or stereotypical, I thought this book would appeal more to a shoot-'em-up, cowboy-enthralled boy than a horse-enamored girl. I will admit though, that 12 year old Silas, is quite an endearing main character, even if he isn't a horse.

I still can learn something from a book even if it does not meet my expectations. Amazon's website advertised the book as Pony Hardcover – Deckle Edge, September 28, 2021 which made me wonder, "What is a Deckle Edge?". I looked it up in Wikipedia and learned:

Paper with a feathered edge is described as having a deckle edge, in contrast to a cut edge. Before the 19th century, the deckle edge was unavoidable, a natural artifact of the papermaking process in which sheets of paper were made individually on a deckle, a wooden frame. Today, machine-made paper may artificially have its edges produced with deckle edges.

This edging seemed very appropriate since Pony was staged in the mid-1850's. This mid-19th century typical book edging contributed to the feel of western genre.

There were a fair number of coincidences in the book, particularly in the denouement, that might lend themselves to childlike amazement; but to the adult in me, those happenstances seemed contrived and lame. In re-reading this post I find it to be harsh, more so than I intended. In contrast to my point of view, Amazon reader reviews rated Pony 4.6 out of 5 stars. I, however, can not seem to get over my disappointment at expecting a pony and getting a smear of manure. I shall retreat and try to recover some of my young-at-heart spirit that I appear to have lost.

★★☆☆☆ Ok, not great; some redeeming features; I finished it

Ponder: The Messy Life of Jane Tanner

When it comes to soap operas, I admit I am a bit of a snob and look down my nose at people who watch them religiously. Or watched I should say; soap operas have fazed out of popularity. Per Wikipedia 

A soap opera, daytime drama, or soap for short, is typically a long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored by soap manufacturers.

But I certainly have experienced the allure of getting to know a slate of characters and following them through their often dramatic and occasionally tortured life decisions. So I must sheepishly admit that I am a fan of soap opera type books in print. They tend to come in a series with a common cast of characters who oddly become my literary friends. My most recent soap opera type book is The Messy Life of Jane Tanner ©2024. It is the third book in Brenda Novak's Coyote Canyon series. 

In The Messy Life of Jane Tanner, thirty-five year old Jane owns a vintage gift shop in Coyote Canyon, cares for her grandfather with dementia, and longs for adventure and an escape from the small community of Coyote Canyon. She is single and reasons that if she has not met that special someone yet, she is not likely to do so. She is concerned that her biological clock is ticking and she wants to be a mother, even if she needs to raise that child as a single parent. Sperm banks are an option but since she would like to know about the child's father she asks Kurt, a long time friend of hers and five years her junior, if he will donate his sperm to do the job. Complications ensue. He stipulates he'd prefer to do the deed the old fashioned way and not merely hand her a vial of semen. She wonders if he has romantic feelings for her. He wonders if she has romantic feelings for him. He also wants to remain involved in the child's life, difficult to do if Jane does indeed move away from Coyote Canyon. The wavering thought processes of each make for a wry, interesting read. True, the dilemma has soap opera tendencies but that is part of the guilty pleasure.

In my defense, I think the series novels I read, although a written soap opera, are a step above stereotypical romance novels. To me, a romance novel is often - not always, but usually -  a stand alone book, where the female lead is a ditz and the male lead is a chauvinist. I have read and enjoyed the previous two novels in the Coyote Canyon series: Talulah's Back in Town (my post for 9/29/23)  and The Talk of Coyote Canyon (my post for 12/29/23) which I rated 4 stars and 2 stars respectively. 

The female leads in both books are strong independent women. Talulah owns and runs a diner/bakery. In The Talk of Coyote Canyon Ellen runs drilling rigs in the rugged Montana terrain, providing sources of water for ranchers and home owners. Since Jane, too, is a strong, committed woman, and since the characters in The Messy Life of Jane Tanner are likable and interrelate with characters in earlier books in the series, I rate The Messy Life of Jane Tanner 3 stars.

★★★☆☆ Better than average; not a waste of time

Soap operas, televised or in written form, can be pleasurable escapism, even perhaps a bit addictive. Per Wikipedia 

"As the World Turns (often abbreviated as ATWT) is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. With 13,763 hours of cumulative narrative, As the World Turns has the longest total running time of any television show." 

As the World Turns was a favorite of my mother-in-law. She still remembers, and has cited with regret multiple times, that the day of a much anticipated and elaborate wedding, she missed the show because Frank was getting on braces and she sat  in the waiting room at the orthodontist. Motherly devotion trumped soap opera addiction - but just barely. Sadly her soap opera era, predated home video recorders, so she never did get to see the climactic wedding.