Starlight, Star Bright

Janet Muirhead Hill
Raven Publishing (2003)
ISBN 0971416125
Reviewed byApril Sullivan for Reader Views (5/06)

“Starlight, Star Bright” is the third book in the exciting Starlight Series. Miranda Stevens is in love with a horse named Starlight and wants to make him her own.

When her friends Laurie and Elliot both get horses for their birthdays, she is the only one in her group of friends not to have one. So as we have come to expect from Miranda, she takes matters into her own hands.

Miranda takes advantage of any chance she can get to be with Starlight when no adults are around. She becomes more and more daring by letting him out of his stall, putting a saddle on him, and eventually racing him around the track. Even though her friends think this disregarding of the rules is a bad idea, she continues to press her luck, going as far as being a bad influence to Mr. Taylor’s grandson Elliot, when she is supposed to be babysitting him.

Miranda’s dreams of someday owning Starlight are looking more and more unlikely as Adam begins training him for racing. Adam was Chris’ riding instructor and turned out to be an old friend of Miranda’s deceased father. He has become hired on at the ranch to prepare the horses for racing. But if Starlight wins a race, Mr. Taylor will never consider selling him to Miranda. Adam and Miranda’s relationship was strained to begin with, but becomes more volatile as Miranda disagrees with Adam’s training style with Starlight. And things get even worse when she finds out he has proposed to her Mom!

Janet Muirhead Hill’s writing style continues to be consistent from book to book in this series. Beyond the main plot of Miranda and Starlight, we have several sub-plots catching our interest. Miranda enjoys living with her grandparents on their farm, but is having feelings of jealousy when she hears her mother is enjoying the company of other children working as a nanny and helping to raise her fiancé’s daughter. There are also the struggles of the Langley’s as they overcome the prejudices of the town toward their mixed race family.

The book is not only rich in plot, it is also rich in setting. The opening sequence includes a vividly described trail ride through the mountains. And the illustrations by Pat Lehmkuhl add that extra touch.

This third book in the Starlight Series ends with the exciting news that Miranda will be a partner in the ownership of Starlight. Questions that propel us into the fourth book include: Could Chris’ horse Queen be pregnant due to Miranda’s irresponsibility with Starlight? Is Miranda going to be able to accept Adam as her stepfather? Will the Langley’s finally be accepted in this small Montana town?

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