The Beef Princess of Practical Country - Michelle Houts

Summary:

After years of waiting, it is finally Libby Ryan’s turn to shine at the Practical County Fair. Libby is filled with excitement as she and her granddad pick out two calves for her to raise on her family’s cattle farm, in hopes of winning the annual steer competition. Against her father’s advice, Libby gives the calves names, even though both steers will eventually be auctioned off. After a few months of preparing for the Practical County Fair, Libby finds that she is growing closer to her steers with each passing day, and the pressure to win Grand Champion is mounting.

Luckily, Libby can count on her best friend to get her through most of the county fair chaos. Yet once reality sets in and she realizes that her steers will soon be sold to the highest bidder, the chaos in Libby’s heart becomes too much to bear.

Review:

To Begin: This is more of a middle grade book, and I knew that going into it, but I wanted to get it because I can relate to it. My dad has a farm and he raises beef cattle, too, so I've grown up around this type of thing.

Characters: Libby was a wonderful character. She was well defined, and you can relate to her, and see where she's coming from with the issues she deals with in this book. However, I felt like the adults in the book - her mother, her father, and her grandfather, for the most part - were very unrealistic. They pretty much did whatever Libby or her sister wanted them to, and they just didn't act like normal parents or grandparents. I saw it more with Libby's parents, but at times her grandfather got that way, too.

Plot: Loved the plot. It was wonderful, and also very original. And that's pretty much all I have to say about that. xD

Wow Factor: For the most part, I was pretty wowed by this book. I loved how it was set in the country, how it revolved around farming and raising beef cattle, and how it dealt with 4-H and a girl raising her own show cattle. 4 hearts.



hope.