4 Star Review - L.R. Trovillion's False Gods #ya

False Gods by L.R. Trovillion is available on Amazon in print and ebook.  All proceeds from sales during the months of December and January are being donated to the Glenelg United Methodist Youth Program (www.glenelgumc.org)  

My review:

False Gods by L.R.  Trovillion tells the story of Cory Iverson, a teenage girl afraid to fail. Her solution to avoiding failure is to avoid trying, running away at the first sign things are going wrong. She doesn’t have the most supportive home, her divorced mother sleeps with creeps and is addicted to prescription meds. Her sister is extremely focused on becoming a dancer, to the point of starving herself to have the right body.

In spite of Cory’s fear, she does try things and even takes things into her own hands like her clarinet lessons. But the scary band instructor sends her running from the room. Luckily, Cory’s dog leads her to the one thing with the ability to help her overcome her fears – a horse farm. At the barn she finds supportive people and, best of all, horses.

As I've found in my own life, horses are so forgiving and never have an ulterior motive or judge even when we make mistakes. Not only does Cory keep up with her  job at the barn and riding lessons, she makes a goal of qualifying for a high-level jumping competition.

But her boss remains a mystery – someone who used to be at the top and now refuses to show. Did she lose her nerve and run away too?

Cory digs around her bosses past, opening painful wounds and nearly ending her chance at finally sticking with something.

I won’t give an spoilers, but Cory’s fight to come to terms with herself and her family feels real and raw. Ms. Trovillion makes the reader care about Cory and want to solve the mystery of her boss along with her. The book is well written and cleanly edited (for those of you that know my nitpickiness!) Definitely worth reading for people who love horses, music, or remember those teen years when life controlled us rather than the other way around. And if you purchase in January, all proceeds are going toward a good cause, a youth group.

This book gets a solid 4 stars from me (high praise, I expect perfection for 5 stars). Recommended purchase!