Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)this book was a surprise to me- came up as an Amazon Rec'd book, so since I AM a horse lover, had to get it. Once I opened it, I can hardly put it down. Ms Feldman has a terrific feeling for the horse, as well as human nature, and the often complicated relationships between the two.
She is a gifted writer, with excellent use of the language and the book flows very well. She has a deep knowledge of her subjects- which makes things very believable and enjoyable. Even though its a tough topic, as so much of growing up is hard to articulate, she has done an outstanding job. I will look for more books by her!
Click Here to see more reviews about: Collective Marks
Over the years, social worker Annie Trowbridge has worked with foster homes, schools, and other community resources to help Michael Ross, just turned eighteen, become a productive citizen, but with only partial success.
Michael has only one consistent attribute—a fascination with horses. Annie sees in this interest a possible solution to his poor work history and repeated brushes with the law, and when she is called by the police to say that he is in trouble again, she makes one last effort to find him work with a horse trainer, Erik Sarmento, on an isolated horse farm.
The ensuing struggle between the volatile, defensive Michael and the hard, unsympathetic trainer is the background of the novel and the means by which Michael learns that he is dealing with both a gifted trainer and a potentially dangerous man.
A delinquent 18-year-old with a passion for horses learns valuable lessons from an unsympathetic horse trainer.Although the story deals with a rare form of competitive horse training—dressage—the author's vivid descriptions successfully integrate the concept into the narrative. In horse training terms, "collective marks" are the judges' scores for a dressage horse and its rider. Feldman extends the metaphor throughout the story, suggesting that collective marks only accrue when an effective balance of power is struck between the student and teacher. A carefully plotted coming-of-age story about the bounds of authority. -Kirkus Discoveries
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