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| Flying Changes: A Novel | 
 enlarge | Author: Sara Gruen
Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy New: $2.00
You Save: $11.95 (86%)
New (49) Used (47) from $0.75
Avg. Customer Rating:  28 reviews
Sales Rank: 21410
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 400
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.1 x 1.2
ISBN: 0061241091
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
EAN: 9780061241093
ASIN: 0061241091
Publication Date: April 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Anxiety rules Annemarie Zimmer's days—the fear that her relationship with the man she loves is growing stagnant; the fear that equestrian daughter Eva's dreams of Olympic glory will carry her far away from her mother . . . and into harm's way. For five months, Annemarie has struggled to make peace with her past. But if she cannot let go, the personal battles she has won and the heights she has achieved will have all been for naught. It is a time of change at Maple Brook horse farm, when loves must be confronted head-on and fears must be saddled and broken. But it is an unanticipated tragedy that will most drastically alter the fragile world of one remarkable family—even as it flings open gates that have long confined them, enabling them all to finally ride headlong and free.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 23 more reviews...
 like an earlier reviewer, also bugged August 29, 2006
22 out of 29 found this review helpful
In the literary world, there are two types of novels. In the first, the protaognists undergo a series of trials, which changes them in ways the reader can clearly see, even if they aren't always for the better. There are a series of scenes, built like ladder rungs that develop the characters and their problems, until the book reaches a climax, in which everything is pulled together and resolved.
In the second, the characters experience many ups and downs but emerge at the end of the book almost the same as they began it.
Scenes are put in, but the reader doesn't have the slightest idea where the book is going, why the details the writer includes are crucial, and why the characters are behaving the way they are.
Flying Changes is the latter type of book. The mother and her daughter (whose behavior I'll get to in a moment) are pretty alike: self-absorbed, histrionic and prone to running away at the first hint of a problem, rather than staying and dealing with it like a mature adults. They engaged in this in the prequel, but one hoped that the tragedy they endured in it might have matured them.
Alas, this is not so. Far from it. The daughter's behavior would be considered inappropriate and excessive for a five-year-old, but what can you expect with a mom who lets her gallop bareback on her blind horse without so much as a weak scolding?
The story itself centers around a Black Stallion plot in which the daughter rides a horse that only lets her on his back. Then there is a serious accident, the details of which I'll leave unspoiled.
As in the first book, there is tragedy at the end, but the mom and child react the same as they did to their more minor setbacks. At least the mom winds up seeing a therapist, so I guess that qualifies as change.
 The Best!! November 5, 2005
12 out of 16 found this review helpful
I thought Riding Lessons was a wonderful book....let me tell you, Flying Changes is the best sequel I have read. Sara has a way of making you feel the characters' emotions like very few authors do anymore. I also appeciate the accurate horse lingo and body movement. If you ride and know horses you will appreciate it too. Way to go, Sara!!
A fun sequel and a FAST read!! January 28, 2006
10 out of 11 found this review helpful
Love it, love it, love it! I have gotten into quine fiction and have read the entire Laura Crum series as well as Julie Singers book and have enjoyed them very much as well. If you like books with strong female leads and plot twists that really suck you in, you'll enjoy these books. She is also portraying the emotion of a divorced women in her late 30's, early 40's and her teenage daughter with an honest feel and a quality that I think is very true to life. The book is fun and dramatic while still offering a happy (but not sugar coated) ending.
Wonderful, realistic storytelling April 12, 2006
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
I have nothing but praise for Sara Gruen's work. Although there do seem to be some minor equestrian-related inaccuracies (cleverly explained in this sequel), both Riding Lessons and Flying Changes are really great reads that focus on realistic, character driven storylines and avoid the much-overused cliches found in most contemporary horsey fiction. While these books will not win awards for ground-breaking fiction, they are entertaining and absorbing tales of real-life situations. The romantic subplots are true to life, as is the protagonist's relationship with her daughter. Other reviewers have noted that the main character's choices and behavior are often questionable, but this is precisely what makes these books an entertaining (and sometimes enlightening) read. We can relate to the characters because they are not infallible - they show errors in judgement and emotional reactions, but continue to learn and persevere throughout. I'm eagerly awaiting a third book.
Riding Lessons/Flying Changes August 28, 2006
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
Sara's first novel and its sequel. I enjoyed both of them thoroughly. In fact, it was hard to put them down and I finished them both in record time.
Annemarie, the main character, is an almost-40-year-old divorcee with a tempermental, yet adorable, teenage daughter. They move back to her parents' horse boarding stable out east (from Minnesota) where Annemarie rekindles an old romance. Dan is also in the horse business, but at a different level. His organization, Day Break, is a horse-rescue mission for abused and at-risk animals.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the transition to a different, yet familiar, living situation, being a single mom, Annemarie's parents, her new boyfriend, and especially her daughter, Eva, take its toll on her emotions and she is her own worst enemy with little effort.
But, her biggest challenge is battling old demons concerning her relationship with the true love-of-her-life, her horse Harry, and the new charge that appears later to take his place. And when Eva shows signs of having the same passion for riding and competing as Annemarie did, her motherly instincts to protect her only child from possible physical and emotional injury continue to get in the way.
What happens in the short couple of years since her husband left her grabs at your heartstrings, yet pushes your cheerleading buttons to the extent that all you want to do is see her come to terms with her life choices and be happy.
As much as I loved Water for Elephants, I have to say I really liked this story even better. Perhaps because of the gender of the MC, I don't know. In any case, I highly recommend the read.
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