Canterwood Crest is a series of pre-teen novel

Novel

A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....

s by American author Jessica Burkhart

Jessica Burkhart

Jessica Ashley , better known by her pen name Jessica Burkhart, is an American author. Burkhart works primarily in the tween fiction genre, and is the writer of the Canterwood Crest series of novels....

, premiering with the 2009 book Take the Reins. The series follows young student Sasha Silver as she enters the Canterwood Crest Academy, an elite school housing highly competitive equestrian

Equestrianism

Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

 riders. While attending Canterwood, Sasha encounters a disparate collection of students, including the snobbish queen bee/alpha rider, Heather Fox, and an eventual love interest named Jacob. As events transpire, the team members attempt to work together amidst a slew of personality clashes and romantic conflicts.

Overview

Upon arriving at the prestigious Canterwood Crest Academy, former Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

 student Sasha Silver plans to join the school's equestrian team. However, she is met with resistance from three popular members known as the "Trio" (Heather, Julia, and Alison), who view her as a threat to their social status. Internal conflict sets the stage for the story, with the initial focus being Sasha's efforts to make the team and sustain her morale. In the midst of things, a boy named Jacob begins to earn her romantic attention. However, other romantic interests also enter the story, leading to love triangle

Love triangle

A love triangle is usually a romantic relationship involving three people. While it can refer to two people independently romantically linked with a third, it usually implies that each of the three people has some kind of relationship to the other two...

s and other personal matters.

Characters

Sasha Silver

A gifted horseback rider, Sasha begins attending Canterwood Crest during Take the Reins, accompanied by her horse, Charm. Her intent early on is to join the school's equestrian team. However, this is initially met with resentment from the popular Trio. She becomes fast friends with a fellow rider named Callie. She is dating Jacob Schwartz.

Callie Harper

A highly driven and athletic student, Callie is out to become Canterwood's finest rider with the help of her horse, Black Jack. She is commited to riding. She meets Sasha in the first book and they become instant best friends.They had a few fights,but in Unfriendly Competition,they talk and it seems they will be friends again.

Heather Fox

Heather is a proud, snobbish member of the advanced riding team. Her horse, Aristocrat, is also at ends with Sasha's horse, Charm. As leader of the Trio, she revels in glory, which often puts her at odds with Sasha. Deep down, her personality is driven by hidden personal matters. At the end, though, she and Sasha agree to work for the better of the team, though that leaves them still at odds with each other.

Julia Myer

A tough-talking equestrian with formidable skills, Julia is another member of the Trio. She often seeks to be recognized as superior to Heather on the track along with Trix, her bay mare. Although in book 12 Julia is expelled from Canterwood since she created the gossip blog

Alison Robb

Alison is the third member of the Trio, and also the meekest. She is close friends with Heather, but often feels second-best in terms of skill. She and Sunstruck, her agitated palomino, work well together. Secretly, she possesses more talent than she is aware of, but is hindered by matters of confidence.

Paige Parker
Paige is Sasha's old roommate and, due to some friend issues, is no longer Sasha's room mate.Paige is the super talented host of the food network for kids show, Teen Cuisine. When a accident causes Sasha and Paige to talk again,they agree to talk and it seems they will be friends again.
Jasmine King

Jasmine is an ambitious transfer student who has a bad and competitive history with Heather. She instantly dislikes Sasha and always tries to sabotage both Heather and Sasha while she's at Canterwood. She rough-handles her horse, Phoneix, a lot. Jasmine lives to compete.

Brit Chan

Brit is a transfer student introduced in book #10, Elite Ambition. She is an extremely strong rider, and she and her horse Apollo are an amazing team. Brit comes from a small town, and has a kind personality, just like Sasha. She instantly becomes popular, and Heather welcomes her with open arms, before she has the chance to start her own clique. But Julia just can't seem to trust her.

Lauren Towers

Books 13,14,15,and Chosen,the super special,are from Lauren's perspective.She is a talented rider,and loves the color blue.She thinks of Sasha as an idol.

Jacob Schwartz

Sasha's current boyfriend. Callie's ex-boyfriend. Jacob was almost dating Sasha until Heather tricks Sasha into thinking that Jacob had been with Heather all along and that they had actually kissed when he was just her math tutor. Sasha storms out of the Sweetheart Sorrie and Eric walks her back to her dorm. Jacob comes to apologize, but when he sees Sasha and Eric together he storms of. (books 1-2)Sasha sends an e-mail to Jacob telling him she still has feelings for him and wants him back, but Jacob had already been dating Callie after the Sweetheart Sorrie. Callie tries to hide it but Julia And Alison find out by swiping her phone. Jacob is with Callie books 3-8 and then breaks up with her. Jacob gets back with Sasha in book nine and they are still together. Jacob had an issue with Eric, but they are friends now.

Eric Rodrigez

Sasha's ex-boyfriend. He transfer to Canterwood in book 2 "Chasing Blue". He has a crush on Sasha but never showed because she liked Jacob at the time. He dates her in book 4-6. When he accidentally thought she was kissing Jacob, it is seems he is dating Rachel, a seventh grade intermediate rider. He never knew the truth about what happened at the party. When Sasha tells him she wants to be friends, they agree and and are great friends again.

Background

Burkhart was inspired by a combination of equestrian experience during her youth and a fondness for writing as she grew older. After much of her freelance work was published by numerous magazines, she entered 2006's National Novel Writing Month

National Novel Writing Month

National Novel Writing Month is an annual internet-based creative writing project which challenges participants to write 50,000 words of a new novel between November 1 and November 30...

 and completed a first draft of Take the Reins. In January 2007, a literary agent offered to read the story after viewing the author's blog. Burkhart was later signed by the agent, which eventually led to a four-book deal with Simon & Schuster

Simon & Schuster

Simon & Schuster, Inc., a division of CBS Corporation, is a publisher founded in New York City in 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. It is one of the four largest English-language publishers, alongside Random House, Penguin and HarperCollins...

.

While promoting the first novel, Burkhart maintained an online presence throughout 2008, blogging

Blog

A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...

 and vlogging with regard to the production of her work and the publishing process. In April, the author reported that photoshoots for her covers had been set in motion. By September, Burkhart had received an advance reader copy of Take the Reins while working on the subsequent novels.

In December, it was announced that an additional four novels would gradually follow the fourth book, Triple Fault. Later in the month, an online video trailer for Take the Reins was released, featuring photos of scenery and the character models. Trailers for other releases followed.

Book releases

Book #	Title	US release
1	Take the Reins	January 27, 2009
Sasha Silver arrives on the campus of the elite Canterwood Crest Academy, where she becomes determined to prove that she belongs on the advanced riding team. She is faced with a competitive group of girls known as the Trio, befriends another rider named Callie, and takes a romantic interest in a boy named Jacob.
2	Chasing Blue	March 24, 2009
After earning a spot on the school's equestrian team, Sasha discovers that Trio leader Heather has also taken an interest in Jacob.
3	Behind the Bit	May 19, 2009
During midwinter break, Sasha is invited to attend an exclusive equestrian clinic, where various clashes ensue among Callie, Heather, Alison and Julia.
4	Triple Fault	August 11, 2009
Sasha deals with Callie's romantic advances toward Jacob. At the same time, a highly competitive new girl arrives.

Book #	Title	US release
5	Best Enemies	October 20, 2009
Best Enemies follows the growing competition between Heather and Jasmine, with Sasha ending up in the middle.
6	Little White Lies	December 22, 2009
Sasha is faced with ethical decisions in order to keep several relationships in their current states.
7	Rival Revenge	January 26, 2010
Julian and Alison seek revenge over their secret being revealed.
8	Home Sweet Drama	April 6, 2010
Home Sweet Drama follows a possible competition between Sasha and Heather for the position of Queen Bee.

Book #	Title	US release
9	City Secrets	July 6, 2010
City Secrets follows Sasha and Heather during a vacation in New York city.
10	Elite Ambition	September 14, 2010
In Elite Ambition, Sasha has gained success and popularity at Canterwood. However, several personal challenges abound.
11	Scandals, Rumors, Lies	November 16, 2010
An anonymous blog Blog A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in... ger has begun revealing personal information about several of the main characters.
12	Unfriendly Competition	January 4, 2011
A skilled rider from Sasha's hometown arrives at Canterwood, posing a possible challenge to her on and off the course.

Book #	Title	US release
Super Special	Chosen	May 3, 2011
Lauren Towers must decide whether or not to go to Canterwood, and what to do with her relationships at home.