Horses Of Oak Valley Ranch Books in Order
Part ofJane Smiley Books in OrderExplore the Horses Of Oak Valley Ranch series by Jane Smiley, with book order, quick summaries, series background, and guidance on which Abby Lovitt story to read first.
Last updated: December 25, 2025
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Publication Order
5 books
Gee Whiz
by Jane Smiley
2013
Abby is fascinated by Gee Whiz, a tall, curious horse who seems eager to see more of the world. With her brother facing a draft notice and friends leaving for school, opportunities and losses pile up, and Abby has to decide when to hold on to her horses and when to let them go.
Pie in the Sky
by Jane Smiley
2012
Sent to ride an expensive horse named Pie in the Sky at a high level clinic, Abby finds herself away from home, surrounded by ambitious riders and demanding trainers. As she juggles new friends, old loyalties, and worries about her beloved True Blue, her ideas about horses and success start to shift.
True Blue
by Jane Smiley
2011
When Abby brings home True Blue, a striking gray horse whose owner died in a car accident, she feels as if she has finally met her dream horse. But Blue seems spooked by things no one else can see, and Abby begins to suspect that grief and ghosts may be sharing the arena with her.
A Good Horse
by Jane Smiley
2010
Eighth grader Abby juggles school, church, and chores on her family’s California ranch while training a talented colt named Jack. A letter from a private investigator hints that Jack’s dam may have been stolen, and Abby must face the possibility that the horse she loves belongs to someone else.
The Georges and the Jewels
by Jane Smiley
2009
Abby Lovitt has been riding for as long as she can remember, but her father insists every gelding is named George and every mare Jewel, because the horses are meant to be sold. When one difficult horse refuses to settle, Abby is forced to question the rules that govern both barn and family.
Series background & context
Set in 1960s California, the Horses Of Oak Valley Ranch novels follow Abby Lovitt, a ranch girl who has been in the saddle for as long as she can remember. Her father trains and sells horses, her mother keeps the books and leans on faith, and Abby ends up in the middle, trying to do right by the animals while learning where her own loyalties lie.
In The Georges and the Jewels, Abby discovers how strange it can feel to live on a working horse farm rather than a fantasy stable. Her father refuses to let her name the horses and calls every gelding George and every mare Jewel, because in his mind they are inventory first. Training a difficult horse under that rule forces Abby to notice not just how horses behave, but how the adults around her dodge what they do not want to see.
Across A Good Horse, True Blue, Pie in the Sky, and Gee Whiz, the circle widens. Abby takes on young colts and mysterious rescues, rides in clinics with famous trainers, and begins to glimpse a world beyond her valley through school, church, and visiting relatives. The books do not rush her toward a single big championship. Instead they track how a thoughtful kid slowly becomes a skilled horsewoman, one decision and one ride at a time.
One of the pleasures of the series is its attention to the unglamorous side of horse life. There are fence repairs, sore backs, sibling arguments, and early mornings when no one particularly wants to haul hay. Smiley writes the barn work and the show ring with the same calm interest, so readers who truly love horses will recognize the rhythm.
Because the books are set in the 1960s, bigger currents keep brushing the edge of Abby's world, from the Vietnam draft to shifts in church life and gender expectations. Those details stay in the background, but they deepen the sense that Oak Valley is part of a changing country, not a sealed storybook.
Taken together, these novels form a quiet, absorbing series about responsibility, empathy, and the way a young person learns to see both animals and adults as complicated creatures. They are especially good for readers who want horse stories anchored in real work, real families, and a specific place and time.
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