Unbroken Book Reviews

Unbroken by Jessie Haas Book Summary

A Publishers Weekly Best Book and Parents Choice Gold Award: Following her mother’s death, a thirteen-year-old has to adjust to life on a farm—and tame a wild young colt

It’s 1910, and Harriet Gibson, orphaned by the death of her mother in a horse-and-buggy accident, is sent to live on a relative’s hillside Vermont farm with her two-year-old colt. Grieving her loss, Harry now has to adjust to a new life and make new friends. And Aunt Sarah is a harsh taskmaster.
 
Desperate to get away from her stern, domineering aunt, Harry decides to break in her untrained young Morgan so she can ride the seven miles to her new school. But an accident will force Harry to adapt once more as she makes surprising discoveries about her aunt . . . and a family secret comes to light.
 
This is a stunning novel about love, loss, and blood ties—and about how even when the heart is shattered, the human spirit remains unbroken.

“Faithful to life’s struggles and richly populated with flinty characters . . . A wise and satisfying novel.” —The New York Times Book Review
 
“This beautifully written novel . . . has fresh and utterly believable dialogue and a wonderful cast of characters.” —Booklist
 
“Haas’s exquisitely crafted prose is the driving force in this heartfelt story of family ties. . . . Convincingly evokes the rigors and beauties of farm life, the pettiness of small towns and the sometimes hopeless tangle of blood relationships that can as easily wound as they can comfort and heal.” —Publishers Weekly
 
“Haas’s memorable characters are well drawn and her descriptions of farm life in the early part of the century palpable. This is an emotionally rich and powerful tale of love, reconciliation, and healing.” —School Library Journal
 
“A nurturing story of healing, filled with raw emotion and crystal-clear imagery.” —Library Journal
 
“A heartfelt . . . novel. . . . Readers will be comforted by the cozy denouement, and by Haas’s evocative descriptions of Vermont in the early years of this century.” —Kirkus Reviews
 
“Unbroken weaves together many interesting themes—the experiences of grief and mourning, connections to family versus those to friends, and struggles related to belonging and identity. . . . Compelling.” —Riverbank Review
 
“The characters are wonderfully real. . . . Haas is a skilled writer and her descriptions, dialogue, and plot are perfectly matched to the world Harriet lives in. The horse connection should draw in middle school readers who like horse stories.” —KLIATT

Jessie Haas is the author of numerous acclaimed books for young people, including Unbroken, which was a Publishers Weekly Best Book. She lives in Westminster, Vermont, with her husband, Michael J. Daley, a children’s author. Haas began writing about horses from a young age and wrote a story during her junior year of college that became her first novel, Keeping Barney. 

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Unbroken (Jessie Haas) Book Reviews 2024

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