The A Circuit
Georgina Bloomberg and Catherine Hapka
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books
Release Date: May 24, 2011
Pages: 272
Source: Publisher

Rating: 3.5 stars

The A Circuit is the top of the top when it comes to horse shows. It’s a world with its own rules and superprivileged lifestyles. Teens travel the circuit all year, showing horses that cost as much as some homes.


Tommi, Kate, and Zara are all elite competitors on the circuit, but they come from totally different backgrounds. Tommi is a billionaire heiress trying to prove she has real talent (not just deep bank accounts). Kate puts the working in working student—every win has been paid for with hours of cleaning stalls. She’s used to the grueling schedule, but Fitz, the barn’s resident hot guy, is about to become a major distraction. And then there’s Zara. She’s the wild child of a famous rockstar, but she’s ready to take riding seriously. Can a party girl really change her ways?


Readers who enjoy peeking into the elite world of Gossip Girl or The A-List will feel right at home in this new series with its friendships, drama, and privilege set against the backdrop of competitive horseback riding.

The A Circuit was a very fun book. Horses have always been animals I have absolutely loved, but I’ve never actually ridden more than 2 times since I have really severe allergies. I substitute that for just reading about horses whenever I can :) It was a slower read, but a good one none the less.

The were a lot of characters. At first, it made things a bit confusing as I was trying to keep everyone straight. Once I had that time, it made the book that much more fun to read – as there were so many stories and they were all so different. I really liked Kate. She was so sweet and was just a really good person.Tommi was a lot of fun as well. When the story involved Kate or Tommi I found those to be my favorite sections. Dani was a total riot – I absolutely loved her. She lightened the story every time she walked on to the page. I was not a fan of Zara at all – even when the story moved over to her thoughts she came off to witchy for me to like her.

I loved the plot. It was really cool how in depth it got into the world of the A Circuit. Everything was really well explained so I didn’t ever get confused. The plot takes you into the characters home lives and stable lives which was nice.

I would have liked a bit more closure at the end. I felt the ending was a bit abrupt – like I was reading, and then all at once there was no more. I really love the cover – I think the hot pink writing is quite nice and the rest of the cover is just so pretty.

I haven’t read anything by Catherine Hapka before now and obviously not by Georgina Bloomberg as this is her first book, but I am very excited to see more from both of these authors. I would love to see what this fabulous duo may come up with next!

The A Circuit was a really enjoyable read. It may not be a book I would rush out to read this instant, but it’s definitely worthy of your time in the near future. It was slower to start out, but as the book went on the story picked up more and more. By the end, I didn’t want it to end and was disappointed to turn the page and find out there was nothing more.

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I have a copy of The A Circuit to give away! It will be open until June 5th and US only. Comment on my review to receive an extra entry (but no comments like “Great review” will be counted)