The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls

A Novel

By: Anton DiSclafani

Narrated by: Adina Verson

A lush, sexy, evocative debut novel of family secrets and girls'-school rituals, set in the 1930s South.

It is 1930, the midst of the Great Depression. After her mysterious role in a family tragedy, passionate, strong-willed Thea Atwell, age 15, has been cast out of her Florida home, exiled to an equestrienne boarding school for Southern debutantes. High in the Blue Ridge Mountains, with its complex social strata ordered by money, beauty, and girls' friendships, the Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls is a far remove from the free-roaming, dreamlike childhood Thea shared with her twin brother on their family's citrus farm - a world now partially shattered. As Thea grapples with her responsibility for the events of the past year that led her here, she finds herself enmeshed in a new order, one that will change her sense of what is possible for herself, her family, her country.

Weaving provocatively between home and school, the narrative powerfully unfurls the true story behind Thea's expulsion from her family, but it isn't long before the mystery of her past is rivaled by the question of how it will shape her future. Part scandalous love story, part heartbreaking family drama, The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls is an immersive, transporting pause resister - a vivid, propulsive novel about sex, love, family, money, class, home, and horses, all set against the ominous threat of the Depression - and the major debut of an important new writer.

©2013 Anton DiSclafani (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Flows beautifully. Typical coming of age story!

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

Does not have a exceptional ending. No real twists.

What does Adina Verson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

The narrator is wonderful. She makes the words flow so beautifully.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

This book was beautifully written and the words seemed to flow together. The reason I gave it a three and not higher was I was very much not in the mood for a book like this. This book kind of reminds me of 'The Diary of Anne Frank'. It is a typical coming of age story. It shows the confusion and lack of understanding of the world as seen through a 15 year old girls eyes. If you like to read coming of age stories this book is for you. Like I said earlier, the words seem to flow and it has details that make the story quite beautiful.

intriguing story

loved the story but did not care for narrator. the story goes between the present and past but does it very well

Love this story!

I fell in love with Thea and her weaknesses, mistakes and her love of her horse and her family. The sexual content didn't bother me as I read other reviewers struggle with the content.

Not Enough Horses

Would you try another book from Anton DiSclafani and/or Adina Verson?

Hmmmnnn. Maybe. This had enough going on so that I listened to it all but there were times that I was working too hard to learn some element or aspect of the character in order to care about the character(s). And sadly, when I did learn something, it really wasn't all that sympathetic to the character. I thought Ms. Verson a good reader, especially for the narrator's personality.

If you’ve listened to books by Anton DiSclafani before, how does this one compare?

This is my first book by DiSclafani.

Which scene was your favorite?

I enjoyed any explication involving the horses but the horses were not really a main point in the plot, except that the riding camp/horses fit into the main character's personal likes/talents.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Probably not. I'd had to give away some pertinent plot points to explain why but I can just say that the pivots that turn the plot are fairly non-relative to most peoples' lives and therefore sort of distant and unreachable.

Any additional comments?

I give kudos to anyone who finishes writing a novel. And points to DiSclafani for writing from the viewpoint of a teenage girl. I might give another book a try. But it will have to have some elements of day-to-day life which don't reach so far into the periphery of the weird and untypical.

Cadence and intrigue

The reader is perfect for this book. I think it’s one of the few I liked better read to me than me reading. A simple and somewhat unsurprising story well told. Really enjoyed!

Good Rough Draft

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Somewhat. The author had some good ideas, the book just needed to be re-worked a lot.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The main character was rather unsympathetic. I think the author intends a deeper takeaway, given the main character's flaws, but I cannot be sure of that intent. I do love historical fiction, and the author does weave this into the story. I think this could have been a much better novel if it had been seriously re-worked.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I prefer men to read the male parts and females to read the female parts-it just comes across better and immerses the reader into the story.

Was The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls worth the listening time?

Sure, just to see what the hype was about, but I probably would not recommend it to others.

Dysfunctional family of the 20s & 30s

Im not a big fan of books depicting dysfunctional families. So, despite the really impressive writing, I was anxious for this book to end. To me, it seemed like a parable about a self-focused mother who created a home environment propped on stilts of superiority and idealism. And because of her efforts to keep even her own family from peeking behind the curtain, a fissure grew to become a cavity that sucked the facade in. The story allowed me more understanding and subsequently even greater compassion for "loose girls."

So different~~~

I’ve seen an odd set of reviews on this book, some low, some high. I think it may be the subject matter. To give that away would be to ruin the story, so let’s just first of all say that the narration is so unique. I love the voice. Second, it’s told by a teen girl who is being sent away to a camp for awhile. You know there is some stress there and not sure why. The author manages to tell the story a little bit at a time until you know it all. It might not be for everybody, but I’d consider myself a bit of a prude, considering my age. If a prude can like it, then you can too. I thought it was excellent and different. Not the same old humdrum.

Gripping in its way.

What made the experience of listening to The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls the most enjoyable?

Disclafani does a great job of getting us inside the head of this young girl. Thea Atwell is precocious in her way, very capable, and complex. The story moves along in segments, with the big reveals held always just out of reach. There's a constant suspense.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Thea is a worthy character to sustain a novel. She is complex and nuanced, but drawn vividly for us.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The end of the book, where several narrative strands are summarized, is especially lovely and poignant.

Any additional comments?

The reader, Adina Verson, is wonderful. She's rather dry, but this allows the words on the page to do the work. I'll seek out other books she's recorded.

Addictive, Shocking, Lovely

One of the few good horse books that doesn't drive a true horse girl crazy. However, it goes so much more beyond that. The performance couldn't be more perfectly executed and the story is masterfully woven.