From Publishers Weekly
This novel set in Texas offers an insider's view of the African-American rodeo scene, with mixed success. Shange (for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf) vividly conveys the excitement and danger of trick riding and ably expresses the void felt by Cowboy "Tie-Down" and his two daughters, 12-year-old Lucie-Marie and 14-year-old Annie Sharon, after his rodeo-star wife is killed by a temperamental horse. However, at times the author strains too hard to evoke emotions and local color; often her characters' dialogue comes off as cliched ("Well, you two are Daddy's rough, tough ridin' cutie-pies, that's for sure. And I love you way down deep in my soul"), especially in contrast with the sisters' more serious exchanges. Tension mounts within the family when Annie Sharon suspects that Tie-Down's new girlfriend, Cassie Caruthers ("a slip of a woman, not much bigger than a minute") is trying to fill her mother's boots. Hoping to draw her father's attention back to his family and his renowned late wife, Annie Sharon takes ill-conceived risks on horseback. As might be expected, the results prove disastrous. Annie Sharon realizes that she has gone too far only after her father becomes seriously injured while trying to save her life. The story provides enough action to keep pages turning, but the heart-felt moments are too few. Ages 10-14. Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 6-9-Lucie-Marie and Annie Sharon's mother, a rodeo champion who valued winning above her life, died in an accident years earlier. The novel begins on the family's East Texas ranch with the girls bickering and moves from this comparatively lighthearted exchange into deeper issues and out of them again. Their father, Tie-Down, wants his girls to accept his new love, Cassie, even as he admits he is still grieving for his wife. There is an exciting description of events at a rodeo, with colorful characters and friends vividly drawn and yet all this verve is somehow wasted in this narrative that has no central character or focus to hold readers. Annie Sharon seems to be central for a good part of the book, but the adult voices compete, as does Lucie-Marie's. Tie-Down loves his children, but doesn't hesitate to use his belt so harshly that he raises welts. Cassie tells him clearly that this is unacceptable, but it continues and the topic is dropped. Equally bewildering is the treatment of the wildness of the horse Moncado, which stomped the sisters' mother to death. As both girls feel winning is powerful, Annie Sharon tries to prove she is the horsewoman her mother was by riding the rogue horse. Somewhat belatedly, Tie-Down begins to teach his daughters how to tame him, which begins in one short afternoon and is then left unresolved. Despite strong characters and a lively setting, this novel is disjointed and unsatisfying, which is a shame, since Shange is clearly capable of portraying rivalry and competitive spirit realistically.Carol A. Edwards, Sonoma County Library, Santa Rosa, CACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 5-9. The celebrated author of for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf (1977) and other plays and books has written her first YA novel. Unfortunately, the message nearly overwhelms the story. Mama was a rodeo star who died years ago in an accident on her out-of-control horse. Now her daughters, Anne Sharon, 14, and Lucie Marie, 12, growing up on their father's big ranch in East Texas, must cope with their pain and anger and with Daddy's grief as he tries to remember his wife and let her go. Add to the mix wise, perfect Cassie, who loves Dad, reads Tarot cards, and helps them all find their way to healing. If the girls like Cassie, are they disloyal to Mama? The family dynamics are overexplained, heavy with therapy. It's the horse-riding and rodeo stuff that will grab readers. There are exciting details about riding bareback, handling horses, running barrels, roping steers, and there's plenty of wild action in the dynamic, racially diverse rodeo community. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
"Do you really think she rides with us, Lucie? I mean, when we want to win so bad we can taste it in the back of our mouths and our throats go dry? Is Mama watchin' over us when it's our turn at the gate?" Annie Sharon and Lucie-Marie, daughters of two African-American rodeo stars, have been raised by their loving but remote father, Tie-Down, since their mother, Twanda, was killed by an out-of-control horse. The girls feel their mother's absence terribly, especially now that they are beginning to get older, but Tie-Down misses her too much to talk about her. Now Tie-Down has started dating Cassie, and the girls resent her intrusion into their lives. But after a close call at the rodeo, it is Cassie who finally brings this family together.

Card catalog description
Twelve-year-old Lucie-Marie and her older sister Annie Sharon attempt to deal with the death of their mother in a rodeo accident, while hoping to follow in her footsteps as championship riders.

About the Author
Ntozake Shange is the author of for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, which won the Obie Award for Best Drama, as well as Float Like a Butterfly, illustrated by Edel Rodriguez, and numerous other plays, novels, and poetry collections. Among the many honors she has received are an NEA Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Medal of Excellence from Columbia University, the City of Philadelphia Artist's Award, and several citations from the Texas State legislature, as well as keys to the cities of Cambridge, Massachusetts; Los Angeles, California; and San Antonio and Austin, Texas. Ntozake Shange is professor of drama and English at the University of Florida at Gainesville.

ANNOTATION

Twelve-year-old Lucie-Marie and her older sister Annie Sharon attempt to deal with the death of their mother in a rodeo accident, while hoping to follow in her footsteps as championship riders.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Annie Sharon and Lucie-Marie, daughters of two African-American rodeo stars, have been raised by their loving but remote father, Tie-Down, since their mother, Twanda, was killed by an out-of-control horse. The girls feel their mother's absence terribly, especially now that they are beginning to get older, but Tie-Down misses her too much to talk about her. Now Tie-Down has started dating Cassie, and the girls resent her intrusion into their lives. But after a close call at the rodeo, it is Cassie who finally brings this family together.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

This novel set in Texas offers an insider's view of the African-American rodeo scene, with mixed success. Shange (for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf) vividly conveys the excitement and danger of trick riding and ably expresses the void felt by Cowboy "Tie-Down" and his two daughters, 12-year-old Lucie-Marie and 14-year-old Annie Sharon, after his rodeo-star wife is killed by a temperamental horse. However, at times the author strains too hard to evoke emotions and local color; often her characters' dialogue comes off as cliched ("Well, you two are Daddy's rough, tough ridin' cutie-pies, that's for sure. And I love you way down deep in my soul"), especially in contrast with the sisters' more serious exchanges. Tension mounts within the family when Annie Sharon suspects that Tie-Down's new girlfriend, Cassie Caruthers ("a slip of a woman, not much bigger than a minute") is trying to fill her mother's boots. Hoping to draw her father's attention back to his family and his renowned late wife, Annie Sharon takes ill-conceived risks on horseback. As might be expected, the results prove disastrous. Annie Sharon realizes that she has gone too far only after her father becomes seriously injured while trying to save her life. The story provides enough action to keep pages turning, but the heart-felt moments are too few. Ages 10-14. (Jan.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Children's Literature - Susan Schott Karr

After the death of their rodeo-going and-riding mother, Annie Sharon and Lucie-Marie have their reservations about whether their mother truly loved them at all. They are both coming of age, especially Tie-Down, who has trouble articulating the loss. While they grapple with their own identities and the need for security and assurance, each African-American sister grapples with her emotions in an individual way. Any adolescent who has suffered a loss or felt in search of "something" to make herself whole will easily identify with these two. Not everyone will identify with the rodeo tradition that characterizes the lives of the girls and their daddy. It is by choosing this lifestyle as a backdrop for the story that the author creates a unique situation, and it is a situation that should appeal to the curiosity of the book's readers. Well-established as the writer of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf, this author knows how to begin at a slow pace and build a crescendo of tension and drama into the story. She is in no hurry. At the same time, there is an emotional urgency that moves the reader across the pages as if, by continuing to read, the girls will be all right and the family left intact by the end of the tale. This book provides a welcome counterbalance to the frequent need for easy entertainment and a shallow canned story line. 2003, Simon & Schuster,

VOYA - Marlyn Roberts

Shange is a well-known, well-respected author of literary novels for adults and has also written a biography of Muhammed Ali for young people. Her first novel for teens unfortunately does not live up to the reputation of her other work. The story of a black family that owns a ranch and whose members are all rodeo riders, this novel seems not to know just what it wants to express. The mother, Twanda, died when she was thrown off a dangerous horse. Her husband and two daughters are trying to move on with their lives several years later. The father, Tie-Down, is not very communicative with his daughters Lucie-Marie and Annie Sharon, who want to know more about a mother they barely remember. Tie-Down becomes romantically involved with Cassie, a friend of Twanda's, and his daughters are unhappy about it. There is the predictable resistance on the part of the girls to allow Cassie into their lives. Lucie-Marie, who was just a toddler when her mother died, capitulates first, after being allowed to ride Cassie's horse. Annie Sharon is more difficult, however, not even changing her mind when Cassie nurses her wounds after Tie-Down has physically disciplined his daughter with his belt. The problem with this book is that Shange does not tell enough about the characters for the reader to get a sense of who or what they are. As a result, one never seems to get close enough to any of the characters to care what happens to them. Except for the realistic descriptions of rodeo events and techniques, there is not much here to attract the average young person. VOYA CODES: 3Q 2P M J (Readable without serious defects; For the YA with a special interest in the subject; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8;Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2003, Simon & Schuster, 192p,

School Library Journal

Gr 6-9-Lucie-Marie and Annie Sharon's mother, a rodeo champion who valued winning above her life, died in an accident years earlier. The novel begins on the family's East Texas ranch with the girls bickering and moves from this comparatively lighthearted exchange into deeper issues and out of them again. Their father, Tie-Down, wants his girls to accept his new love, Cassie, even as he admits he is still grieving for his wife. There is an exciting description of events at a rodeo, with colorful characters and friends vividly drawn and yet all this verve is somehow wasted in this narrative that has no central character or focus to hold readers. Annie Sharon seems to be central for a good part of the book, but the adult voices compete, as does Lucie-Marie's. Tie-Down loves his children, but doesn't hesitate to use his belt so harshly that he raises welts. Cassie tells him clearly that this is unacceptable, but it continues and the topic is dropped. Equally bewildering is the treatment of the wildness of the horse Moncado, which stomped the sisters' mother to death. As both girls feel winning is powerful, Annie Sharon tries to prove she is the horsewoman her mother was by riding the rogue horse. Somewhat belatedly, Tie-Down begins to teach his daughters how to tame him, which begins in one short afternoon and is then left unresolved. Despite strong characters and a lively setting, this novel is disjointed and unsatisfying, which is a shame, since Shange is clearly capable of portraying rivalry and competitive spirit realistically.-Carol A. Edwards, Sonoma County Library, Santa Rosa, CA Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews