GiGi Amateau

Honors

2009 SIBA Book Award, nominee

2008 CYBIL Award - Middle grade fiction, nominee

2008 New Voices Pick, Association of Booksellers for Children

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Books

Chancey of the Maury River

On the night that Chancey is born, a "fire star" races across the sky, a signal that a great horse has entered the world. But it will take many years of slights and hardships before the orphaned albino will believe that the prophecy is truly meant for him. First he must find a home at the Maury River Stables and a girl named Claire who needs him as much as he needs her. Then, when his aching joints and impending blindness bring an end to their training together, he must start a new chapter as a therapeutic horse, healing people with wounds both visible and unseen. In the manner of a latter-day Black Beauty, Chancey's observant voice narrates this absorbing story, filled with fascinating details of life at the stable and keen insight into equine instinct, human emotion, and the ineffable bond that connects them both.

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About the book

by Gigi Amateau
Middle-grade fiction
Candlewick Press, hardcover May 2008
Ages 10-14
Grade 4-9
ISBN-978-0-7636-3439-1

Chancey in the News

Exciting News!
Chancey of the Maury River has been nominated for a 2009 SIBA Book Award. Read more

Look For Us in Young Rider! The December issue of Young Rider features Chancey in the Book Bag -- we're proud to be in such good company. www.youngrider.com!

Chancey in the News

Happy 5th Birthday Blaze! See Chancey of the Maury River, as featured in Blaze Magazine for Horse-Crazy Kids "Super Summer Reads" in print or online at www.blazekids.com!

blaze birthday candles Chancey Rides Again! The Sept. 08 issue of Appaloosa Journal featured Chancey of the Maury River in their Horse Lover's Book Corner.

School Library Journal

A highly enjoyable read.

Solares Hill, Key West, FL

Gigi Amateau's novel "Chancey of the Maury River" came as a gentle surprise, not only reminding me why I fell in love with reading in the first place but causing me to fall in love all over again ... No one, as it turns out, is too old or too young for a second chance -- or for a good horse story.

The Horn Book Magazine

The sentimental horse story is revived to magnificent effect in this moving novel...Chancey's generous heart and deepening trust in his riders are the occasion of more than one teary moment as this horse story winds to a stirring finish.

The Chronicle of the Horse

Written in the style of equestrian classics such as Black Beauty and Misty of Chincoteague, Gigi Amateau's ambitious Chancey of the Maury River injects a dose of modernity into the old hard-luck horse story...I can't imagine a more delightful read, or a better gift, for a young person with a taste for modern literary pony tales.