![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Rory has horses and later photography to keep her grounded. The other is told in third person and switches back and forth between Rory’s narrative and that of Vivian Price, the bored and troubled daughter of a movie star who lives in a mansion down the Canyon from Rory. Rory became a mostly absent parent as she perused a storied career as a photojournalist around the world, leaving Charlotte to be raised by Gus in Wyoming. One is a first-person account from Rory’s daughter Charlotte as she tries to unravel her mother’s life. The horses hold Kept Animals’ many characters and intricate plot together to form one cohesive if twisting narrative. The novelist pulls off this impressive tightrope dance by ensuring her readers know what is happening in the big horse scenes and including just enough technical equestrian details to keep it both authentic and accurate. While competitions, clinics, and elite show barns are part of the story, it also includes the callus forming work of breeding, training, and caring for horses. Three-day evening and sport horses are central to the novel, and Milliken paints rich images of the sport’s culture and the lives of those who live it. Rory rides among them and competes on Chaparral, her athletic jumper with a big heart. She is the stepdaughter of Gus, the manager of the large boarding and training facility in the Canyon that caters to high-end equestrians and horse owners. The protagonist, Rory Ramos, is a barn hand and an exercise rider. ![]()
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