Thick as Thieves ~ Review

Thick as Thieves
Circle C Milestones 1
An Andrea Carter Book
By Susan K. Marlow

Andi Carter's horse Taffy is her pride and joy and she's nearly beside herself with anticipation and worry about Taffy's first foal. Taffy's delivery is difficult and nearly costs the life of both the mare and the foals.

But school keeps Andi from spending as much time with her beloved horses as she wants to.  After all the foals need to be worked with, to be trained.  But her mother insists that school is important.  But more than the new foals make school miserable for Andi.  Macy Walker is new to school and she's determined to make life miserable for everyone, especially her seatmate Andi.

Cattle rustlers have moved in and are striking all the ranches in the area.  But Andi is more concerned about having a bully in the schoolroom than rustlers until the Circle C's horses are threatened.  Can Andi keep her horses safe?  Or will she lose them to the rustlers?

Thick as Thieves is set in the 1880's in the San Joaquin Valley of California.  This book examines the importance of family and how they influence how we live.  Andi's family is loving and caring, which is in sharp contrast to Macy and her family.  Often those who strike out are hurting and need a friend. But to someone who has been hurt offered friendship may be hard to accept.  How do you trust when trust has been destroyed?  Tweens and teens will enjoy this book especially if they have a fondness for horses,.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher through the Kregel Blog Tour program in exchange for my honest review and tour participation.


About the book: 

Fourteen-year-old Andrea Carter would rather ride her beloved palomino, Taffy, than do anything else. But life on the Circle C ranch in 1882 is busy. Between school and chores, Andi is left with little time to prepare for Taffy's first foaling. Then when the event finally arrives, it nearly ends in disaster.

Returning to school keeps Andi hard-pressed to find time for foal training. And she now has a new problem on her hands--Macy Walker, who has been assigned as Andi's seatmate. The new girl's crude manners and cruel behavior bring storm clouds into Andi's life, as does the news that cattle rustlers have moved into the valley.

When the cattle rustlers turn to stealing horses and strike the Carter ranch, Andi's only hope for recovering her precious colts lies with Macy. Can Andi trust this wild girl? Does she have a choice?