The small town of Wellington, Florida, has the distinction of playing host to some of the wealthiest people in the world as well as the most prestigious equestrian events. King Charles comes from England to watch polo on the fields where he once played as Prince. The United States Olympics Equestrian team trains and competes there with teams from other countries. In sharp contrast, just down the road, due west, are some of the largest sugarcane fields in the world. The people who work these fields are for the most part poor. They come from many cultures and backgrounds, but they primarily come from Haiti, Jamaica, and the United States. This combination of horse owner and cane worker is an unusual dichotomy, and it is a blend of these things that makes up the world in which my story’s main character, Tillie, the 11-year-old daughter of a sugarcane field foreman, lives.
In The Airs of Tillie, Tillie Turpning lives in an imaginary world that is filled with beautiful horses, polite people, and luxurious homes. Her real world, however, includes living in a cane foreman’s small tenant house with her over-worked mother, an autistic sister, and a rebellious older brother who is searching for answers within a radical Muslim group. When Tillie is unexpectedly forced to assist in the difficult birth of a new foal, she proves that her determination and belief in herself will allow her to accomplish anything she sets out to do.
Pages: 83
If Tillie Turpning could live the life she had prepared herself for, she would be of the upper-class, and well-trained in the correct mannerisms and social constructs of the world. Miss Anne’s Book of Etiquette and Other Important Things had been a staple in teaching Tillie how to behave correctly, even though such manners don’t necessarily belong in the house of a cane foreman and his family.
When Tillie finds herself with no choice but to aid a foaling horse by herself, she is thrown into the life she has always dreamt of – Capt’n Mark owes Tillie for ensuring his mare and foal survived and will arrange for her horse riding lessons so she may enter the Youth Division of the National Gold Cup Equestrian Award.
This book may be short, but it packs a lot in! Tillie is an incredibly lovable character, she is only eleven, but her ideals are clear and she sticks to what she believes to be right. She might walk around showing off her airs and graces, but she is fiercely loyal and cares deeply for her family.
I liked that this book didn’t just show Tillie’s slightly skewed and naive perspective of the world, but also gave the views of those around her. We not only join Tillie, but also her brother, who is questioning his religious beliefs, her sister, who has been diagnosed with autism, and Capt’n Mark’s daughter, Melissa. With these additional storytellers, we get a much more rounded story and can see clearly how the world works around these people.
Tillie’s brother, Matt, works out in the cane fields and has high hopes for his future. He tells a lot about the cane fields, and how the job itself works, while also offering a slightly more mature view of their lives, although he certainly has his moments of grumpiness towards his younger siblings! Melissa also offers this older point of view, although she is not from the same kind of family, but rather is the daughter of the owner of the land. She has grown up privileged, but misses out on the family interaction and understanding that Tillie’s family has. Melissa shows that money is not always everything, and that you can be rich in many other ways.
I especially liked Mabe’s perspective in this story. She is Tillie’s sister and has an entirely different view of the world. Her passages show just how different her mind works in comparison to how she is perceived. Tillie and Matt both see her as incapable of doing things for herself and, at times, as a chore they must deal with, whereas Mabe telling her story shows that she is so much more. She understands her own world, and experiences things in many different ways. I loved the inclusion of Mabe in this story, for she is a truly interesting character.
This is a book aimed at younger readers, and one that I think many teens would enjoy, although with such a young main character, older teens may not connect with Tillie too much, and may prefer Matt or Melissa. There is a historical setting, although the period itself is not explored too deeply. The inclusion of the horses definitely added an understanding of each of the people’s characters, for animals are plain and simple when it comes to who they like and who they don’t, and they certainly helped to show the reader just what kind of person Tillie is.
I enjoyed reading this story, I read the whole thing in one sitting. The cover is also absolutely gorgeous, and is certainly eye-catching to potential readers. If you know younger readers who love horses as much as I did at that age, or if you yourself enjoy the odd YA short story, this is certainly the book to go for next!
A gentle breeze stirred, scattering red and white petals from the potted geraniums that were decorating the field. The crowd noises softened. Arabesque picked up her gate into a slow gallop around the outer edge of the jumping arena in response to Tillie’s silent command, settling into her own pace, her natural rhythm. Then she felt the pressure of the young girl’s knees on her sides—another command, another signal from rider to horse. Arabesque began galloping faster, her eyes alert and focused on a split-rail fence banked with hedges. Faster, faster, up, and over, and Arabesque once again resumed her slow gallop.
This time she felt the reins pull slightly to the left. She angled her strong, muscular body in that direction and once again picked up speed. Three stone walls, each positioned in front of the other, blocked her path. “You can do it,” she heard the girl whisper. As Arabesque approached the first wall at a full gallop, she felt the girl shift her weight, working with her own, blending her body movement with that of the horse. Over the first wall, the second, and then the third. Arabesque snorted loudly and bobbed her head with exuberance. But she wasn’t finished yet. Again the girl pressed her knees, silently instructing and urging Arabesque to perform.
They negotiated three more jumps: the oxer, the tiger trap, and the vertical gate. So far their score was perfect. The crowd was totally quiet now as they watched the champion jumper obey the commands of its young rider.
The water hazard was next. Tillie and Arabesque had watched three other horses lose points on it, and one horse had to be disqualified for refusing to jump it at all. “You’re not afraid, Arabesque,” the horse heard Tillie whisper. Faster, faster the horse galloped toward the hazard. Up she went, once again feeling the young girl’s tensed body stretched in union with her own. They were over it. Arabesque looked across the field and saw Molly, her companion horse, watching.
“Good girl, Arabesque. Good girl.” But Tillie wouldn’t let Arabesque relax. The horse felt pressure, this time coming from the girl’s heels and knees. Arabesque continued in her rhythm. Two more jumps to go, and they were also the most difficult. Arabesque felt the girl urge her to pick up her gate. She didn’t understand that they had only a limited amount of time to complete the jumps or otherwise lose points. She only sensed she had to hurry; and that if she didn’t, for some reason the girl would be disappointed.
Arabesque felt the girl press her knees harder into her sides and turned toward the obstruction. Bales of hay were stacked into a five-foot barrier. Extending from both ends were fence rails of varying lengths. Arabesque perked her ears forward, her breathing was heavier now. Closer and closer she galloped toward the obstruction until she felt the girl’s body tense. Through the air they went, and when they landed on the other side, the barrier was still intact.
Murmurings could be heard from the crowd. So far, this young girl who had never ridden in competition before had scored higher than any of the other contestants in the Youth Division. There was one jump left—the dreaded spiderwort—and only fifteen seconds remaining on the clock.
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