Set against a backdrop of horses and jumping competitions, Quality Concealed is a feel-good story of devotion, determination, and of making dreams come true. Addressing popularity, peer pressure, and values, it focuses on 16-year-old Heather Chambers who works to discover her own potential instead of continuing to wish whe could be like someone else.
The novel tells of Heather's training of her part-Percheron gelding, under the direction of her mysterious and sometimes frightening neighbor, Mr. Quinn. She meets boyfriend snatcher, Sheila, and her seasoned jumper, Pagan, in the show ring and learns an important lesson about winning.
The joys and frustrations of love, new and revisited, flavor the story, as Heather seeks to retrieve David's affection and guide her widowed mother's romantic endeavors.
In 1999 the manuscript for Quality Concealed won honorable mention in the young adult catagory of the Utah Arts Council statewide competition. It also won honorable mention in the statewide Utah League of Writers contest, where it competed in an opoen category.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 5.0 / 5.0
It's been a long time coming on this series for me!!!:
Betty, I was so pleased to have finally started this series of yours! You gave me these three books years ago for my girl twin and I have been waiting for her to read them. Finally, the other day, I pulled them out and decided I couldn't wait for her to be FIRST!! I remember you and I discussing these and your telling me about them but I didn't expect the beautiful writing style I found when I got inside. How impressed I am by your clean and crisp choice of words and thoughts and how pleased I was with... more info
Enteraining from the first page to the last!!:
Heather Chambers discovered her 16th summer would be anything but usual. Coping with the ultimate betrayal of a friend, a heartthrob who didn't know she existed and a new despicable fiancé of her mother. However, not all was lost when she and her loyal grey gelding, Possum, befriended a new neighbor, Mr. Kevin Quinn. Against all warnings from her mother and friends, she continued her friendship with Mr. Quinn and discovered he was not what others perceived him to be. In fact, he not only was the... more info
For Youth and Adults:
Quality Concealed is a novel for both youth and adults readers. Betty Briggs weaves a great story between all the characters. She had me despising some characters in the beginning, but liking and understanding them in the end. The reader struggles along with Heather as she tries to train her horse and through her trials with the cute David. The fights between Heather and Sheila are common between teen girls, allowing the youth readers to connect with the characters. The Heather series is a good addition to... more info
Especially recommended for pre-teen and teenage girls:
Quality Concealed by Betty Briggs is the engaging a story written for young adult readers features a sixteen-year-old girl whose plain, ordinary gelding can't quite match the exotic Thoroughbred of her best friend, and who must juggle school and equine obligations with her growing interest in a handsome young fellow student. When a neighbor of uncertain motives moves next door, events spiral toward a jumping contest and a deep rift between friends. An appropriate addition for school and community library YA... more info
