The Beef Princess of Practical County by Michelle Houts
Release Date: April 14, 2009
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Age Group: Young Adult/Middle Grade
Pages: 240
After years of waiting, it is finally Libby Ryan’s turn to shine at the Practical County Fair. Libby is filled with excitement as she and her granddad pick out two calves for her to raise on her family’s cattle farm, in hopes of winning the annual steer competition. Against her father’s advice, Libby gives the calves names, even though both steers will eventually be auctioned off. After a few months of preparing for the Practical County Fair, Libby finds that she is growing closer to her steers with each passing day, and the pressure to win Grand Champion is mounting.
Luckily, Libby can count on her best friend to get her through most of the county fair chaos. Yet once reality sets in and she realizes that her steers will soon be sold to the highest bidder, the chaos in Libby’s heart becomes
too much to bear.
Very realistic depiction of life on a beef farm. I couldn’t help but find humor in Libby’s story because is was quite similar to my own life. I even shared her brief stint of being a vegetarian when I auctioned off my one and only beef steer Elmer. I rarely eat red meat to this day.
Although I enjoyed reading the story, I thought the plot was mundane and predictable. In addition, some of the subplots seemed incomplete and almost unneeded. Especially the pageant competition, I’m not sure exactly why that was included in the story.
A very nice story with a neatly tied realistic ending. Readers will be sure to respect and root for Libby as she makes difficult decisions for herself and her steer.