Gee Whiz

Gee Whiz by Jane Smiley, 261 pages

This is part of a series, The Horses Of Oak Valley Ranch. In this story, Abby’s brother, Danny, has brought a horse name Gee Whiz to board at their ranch. Throughout the course of the book we find out that the horse actually belongs to Danny, but he thinks that their father won’t approve so hasn’t told him. Danny has also received a notice for the draft and will probably be going to Vietnam soon. One of the elderly people at Abby’s church has been ill and Abby has been worried about him. She’s also trying to decide what to about two of her horses, True Blue and Jack. Someone wants to buy Blue, and Abby isn’t sure that she’s ready to sell. Jack, who she partially owns, is probably destined to be a race horse, but she and her family can’t afford what the training will cost. Jack’s other owner wants this to happen for Jack and Abby isn’t sure what to do. The series is really about Abby, who is growing up in the late 1960s but, except for a few references, the time isn’t obvious. Kids who like stories about growing up or horse stories will probably like these stories.