I wish I would have read this when I was 12 years old. I would have felt a deep affinity with Pam - her love for freedom and horses. Her strength and her vulnerability. I would have learned a few things about equality as well. This is a book I would have read ten, twenty times, had I come across it twenty years ago. I stopped re-reading horse books (or any books for that matter) at the age of 14-15, that was when I started reading adult novels. Not that I ever really grew out of children's books, but I don't read anything over and over and over again.In this book, Alec has just fired a drunken horsehand, when Pam shows up. She asks to work for him and he lets her as she shows skill and patience. Back at the racetrack trainer Henry is less than impressed with Alec's decision. He doesn't want women around horses, they only cause trouble. Alec is sent back to Hopeful farm on a mission to fire Pam, but he can't. He's falling in love with her. The details of the love story are sparse, but eventually she follows Alec to the race track. In confronting Henry it is suddenly decided that Pam should race Black Sand, the colt she was training on Hopeful farm, in his first race. Uh oh. Pam might be great with horses, but she has no experience racing.I like Farley's take on feminism, he smoothly avoids the worst of the pit falls. Pam is a little too perfect perhaps, and she is more feminine than feminist. That is the point though, she shouldn't have to behave like a man to be worthy, and she doesn't. She's small and fragile, braids flowers into the manes of the horses, dances in the dark and stands her own - yet there is no question of her mental strength and determination to live her life as she wants, rather than as dictated by others. Pam stays true to herself throughout.
Also published as The Black Stallion and the Girl (Paperback)This book could be read alone but complements the series well.Alec Ramsay is still racing his Arabian stallion The Black to earn prizemoney while he gets a breeding stable established. He is advised by his surrogate father Henry Dailey, an elderly horse trainer. In need of extra help, Alec hires a girl called Pam Athene with fine blonde hair who really has a way with horses. Even the temperamental Black gets on with her.A fair bit of the book is spent with Alec mooching about getting to know Pam and walking into her room when she is not present. There is a reason for this. But back to the story. Alec is injured and cannot ride the Black in a race and the issue then is whether Pam - who is willing to try - can stay on the Black and if so, would make a fair enough jockey to help the Black do what he does best. Alec has definite feelings for her and doesn't want to risk her life.The personal story behind this book is that Farley had a daughter called Pam who died young. This book was his way of immortalising her - the hint comes with the Greek goddess surname, as 'those whom the gods love die young' in ancient Greece. So when Alec stares around Pam's belongings and posters, we can see the author doing just that, and when Pam steps up to mount the Black, we can see Farley telling us that one cannot wrap young people in cotton wool. Knowing this I find it a sad story but for a subtly romantic horsey adventure it is a fine read.
Do You like book The Black Stallion And The Girl (1991)?
The main character is Alec and Pam. Pam is a new girl employee that Alec hired. Alec rides the Black in races and trains horses at Hopeful Farm when he is't racing. The setting of this book takes place at Hopeful Farm and at racetracks. The conflict in this book is when Alec hires Pam, and Henry doesn't like girls getting into the horse business. So when Alec told Henry that he hired a girl, Henry said that he had to fire her. Alec went back to the farm to tell Pam that she had to leave, but while he was there he didn't tell her. When he got back to the racetrack Henry asked him if he fired her. Alec told him that he didn't tell Pam, and Henry blew a gasket. He was so mad, but then somehow Alec persuaded Henry to let her stay. Pam helps them out a lot because she rode the Black in a $100,000 race. She rode the Black in the race because Alec couldn't ride a horse in a race for 10 days due to the Black being uncontrollable during a race, and bumped into a couple of horses. So, when Pam rode the Black in the $100,000 race and won, she made Hopeful Farm more money to pay off expenses and things. My opinion on this book is that it is great and I love the way they solve things. This book has some drama but not a lot in it, and I like that. This is truly an awesome book. These books are the best I have read this year. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes horses and drama. Horse lovers will like this book along with The Black Stallion series.
—Kensie Linton
This was one of the less exciting books in the series, but it was ok, although Henry is a huge jerk in this book (how can a man who really wanted a filly to win the Kentucky Derby be so against the idea of female jockeys?). It was sweet that Walter Farley based Pam off of his daughter, although he made her into a Mary Sue. I think that this book was written for himself and for his family, not for his fans.
—Jesse Haubert
Review- The Black Stallion and the Girl, Walter FarleyYears ago, when I was in junior high, I would visit the library and read every Walter Farley book available. And then I moved on in life, unaware he continued to write many more books in the Black Stallion Series. Perhaps it was nostalgia that guided me to pick up this book, one of his last. The Black is a famous racehorse now, officially belonging to Hopeful Farm but still a one-man horse. Only Alec Ramsay can ride him. Meanwhile Alec has trouble finding a reliable man to train two-year-olds. He's surprised when Pam, a girl with wanderlust, applies for the job. In the 1970s world of racing, girls are only beginning to break the sexual barrier, as stable hands and jockies. Will Pam be allowed to stay?Farley eases from one viewpoint to another, showing why Pam shouldn't be hired and why she should. Alec is caught between his trainer's demand against hiring women and his desire to support Pam.This young adult book brings you into a world the author is familiar with--the demands and dangers of racing.
—Gloria Piper
