Heartland #18: New Beginnings (ISBN 0439653665)

AWESOME SERIES, AWESOME BOOK:
This book wuz my absolute fav. I am soooo glad Amy took Ty 2 Ocanumba. He really changed Maverick. I also luved Every New Day, a Heartland book about when Amy goes 2 Ocanumba by herself. Ocanumba really changed from #9 2 #18. Huten's words really r true. (If u don't know wat i mean, read Every New Day!) I definetly recommend this book. Wat r u waitin for? Run out and buy it!

New Beginnings show end of Heartland:
New Beginnings is book that is a repeat of past heartland books. Since #8 Heartland book (Thicker than Water)the series has lost interest in me. Someone always has an issue, and it becomes solved by Amy. No one else. And the issue is always revoled around a horse. In the end there is some sort of join up, and the story ends happily. Another issue I have with these books is that they do not grow with the reader, I started reading these books at age 11, now I am 15. There needs to be more drastic events (or at least one) within the characters. There needs to be something more exciting (Mystery, Romance, or Action). Overall New Beginnings is unthrilling, and a repeat of past books. Readers should only read this book if you are young and starting off with chapter books.

Better Than I Thought:
This Heartland book had me immediately thinking, oh boy. I did not think I would like this book. Surprisingly I did, because there was a lot of things not out in the open that were underlying in the story. Let's face it: this book IS typical Heartland because it was about Amy helping this family pick up from her last visit in book #9. Carey is a troubled teen that does not feel sure about how to feel after her grandfather Huten dies. But she knows in her heart that she must leave Ocanuba because he gave her his blessing to go see the world. Amy, helping Maverick and through horses, can understand human behavior, which is quite right. Also this book carries the fact that saying you'll leave a person or place you love is one thing, but it takes courage to actually follow through. Brooke deserves a lot of credit here for her thick plots. This book actually kept me turning the pages for hours on end.

This book should be called Occanumba, not Heartland!:
This book is not my favourite in the Heartland series. It is not even really about heartland, the main part of the book is based in Occanumba. Also, there are hardly any horses in this book, just Maverick (who is only a minor part) and a tiny bit of Spindleberry and Albatross. It is mainly about Carey and her mood swings. It is also a bit unrealistic, as Amy comes out eith long, involved, emotional speeches that no teenager i know would blab on about! The way she talks is more like a middle aged psychatrist! I also think that the most recent books have been targeted at a younger audience. At the start of the series i would class them as 'young adult' material, but now they are just for kids who like horses. She is supposed to be going out with Ty but they never seem to kiss much or do anything romantic. In this book he goes to Occanumba with Amy and they don't even get off together once! Even though they are in the forest all alone at one point, with no adults around. All in all this book is ok, but rather boring. Nothing much happens, i thought Amy might at least have an arguement with Joni when she takes over with Spindleberry, but no, Amy has gone middle-aged and doesn't do anything. I would only recommend buying this book if you are a total heartland fan. Carey is really annoying at the start and the horses hardly feature at all. I hope the last 2 books in the series are better, because this one was rather pants.

Stop at 20:
This is a good Heartland books. I just wanted to say that the books up to 20 are all awesome. 20 is really a very good ending to the series. That being said -I would recommend that you stop reading here. Don't read the special books after this. You will feel betrayed as a reader and you will get an entirely new perspective of the books and characters(Not a Good one, in anyway) So end your reading here. Go back and read the books over and over again. Don't ruin your love of Heartland, Amy, Ty, the horses, and every body else. Personally, I would recommend not even talking about the new books with anyone.