Golden Filly Analysis

Golden Filly is a series of novels by Lauraine Snelling the best selling and award winning children's author with more than eighty novels to her name. The first novel of the series was the 1991 published title The Rave that introduced the lead character of the series 16 year old Tricia Evanston. The first novel was soon followed by nine more novels culminating in the 1995 published novel The Winners Circle. However, Snelling had been writing for along time before this having debuted her writing career with the novel Tragedy on the Toutle published in 1982. Since then she has been writing adult non fiction, contemporary and historical fiction and more horse novels for her young readers. She has won many accolades and awards over the years including
When her father is taken ill, it is up to Trica and her friends and brothers to take up more responsibilities that include exercising the horses for upcoming races and ensuring that the farm is kept in good working order. She has to do all these while ensuring that she does not neglect her school work as that would make her be at loggerheads with her mother. Tricia is a likable protagonist whose strong will is well beyond her years. For the most part she makes the hardest of decisions and takes responsibility to make her father and mother proud, even as she seeks to fulfill her dreams of racing the Kentucky Derby. In fact most of the characters in the series are honest and good people that help each other in their time of need. The only villain in the novel is Evanston's father illness which burdens the young girl with an overwhelming amount of worry and work. Lauraine Snelling writes good narrative of courage in the face of adversity as Tricia not only loses her father to the illness but she wades through the tragedy to become a several time winner of local horse races and the Kentucky
Hal her father who had been one of the best trainer of horses for miles around has been taken ill and the family has been asked by the daughter to get him to eat as much as possible to maintain his strength. Prayers are made for him at the local church leaving Tricia embarrased. Meanwhile her mother wants her to withdraw from the race as she believes that she may hurt herself. David her elder brother supports her mother's opinion and tried to convince her to wait until she is well prepared. But Tricia will never allow anyone to convince her not to ride Spitfire onto that race track. Going along for the trip will be a 3 month old horse named Miss Tee that was born on her birthday and been offered to her as a birthday gift by her father. But just when she qualifies for the Kentucky Derby, her father condition worsens leaving her devastated. She learns how to cope by getting closer to God and makes a good showing at the Kentucky Derby which she dedicates to the memory of her