Stagestruck

Nikki Tate-Stratton writes novels for preteens. Her most recent books
are Jo’s Triumph, Raven’s Revenge, and Tarragon Island.

Stagestruck is an adventure-filled sequel to Peterson’s earlier
novels, Dancer (1996) and Abby Malone (1999). Several subplots and lots
of horse action keep pages turning: when 16-year-old Abby Malone starts
riding the magnificent stallion Dancer, mysterious things start
happening; local madman Samuel Owens threatens the safety of the
community; and an old barn-cum-theatre is resurrected after years of
sitting idle. Various romances flourish, a restless ghost mentors Abby
when she takes part in a play, and family members grapple with Mrs.
Malone’s ongoing battle with alcoholism.

If it sounds like there is a lot going on, there is—probably too
much. The book works best when Peterson lingers on the details:
behind-the-scenes glimpses of the production of a play in the old barn
and the hands-on descriptions of riding, training, and competing with
Dancer. The book is less successful when Peterson tries to blend fantasy
with what is essentially a realistic story. The conversations between
Abby and the ghost don’t ring true, and while the anthropomorphic
approach to the two main animal characters (Dancer and Abby’s pet
coyote, Cody) might be a convenient way to inform the reader of certain
plot developments, it lacks credibility, particularly when the animals
react, think, and plan in ways untrue to their essential natures.

Peterson’s choice of an omnipotent narrative voice is disruptive to
the flow of the text and effectively prevents the formation of any real
emotional bond between the reader and Abby, ostensibly the main
character.

The completely implausible plot developments (for example, after Dancer
falls into a pit dug by Owens, the coyote digs at the side of the trap
until the horse is able to escape) and several unbelievable reactions by
characters to traumatic events (Abby’s father’s response to the news
that a bullet was found lodged in the back of Dancer’s saddle is
merely to suggest that his daughter stay off the trigger-happy Owens’s
property: he then continues the conversation with news of what the
neighbors are up to) make it difficult to continuously suspend
disbelief. While some may find the novel fine as light, escapist
reading, Peterson has tried to cram too much into the story and the
result is that, at times, its flavor becomes almost farcical.

The themes that might have provided some substance (a family’s
struggle with alcoholism, a community confronted with the actions of a
madman) remain underdeveloped and, as a result, not very compelling.
Recommended with reservations.