In this middle grade graphic novel, twelve-year-old Victoria is burned out from the high-pressure world of riding competitions. Can she get back to basics and rekindle her love of horses?
Victoria thought all she wanted in life was to ride, train, and study horses. But after all the pressure from competitions, and a falling out with her best friend Taylor, Victoria takes a step back from everything. She starts attending Edgewood Stables, a smaller riding facility, with the goal to renew her love for horses.
But of course things could never be simple. At Edgewood Stables she is faced with the challenge of schooling a new horse named Quinn while dealing with the rocky personality of Norrie, the queen bee who is making everyone ignore Victoria. Things come to a head at the Waverly Stable’s annual schooling show, where Victoria has to compete with Quinn and also face her ex-best friend!
Author’s note, with photograph and artwork. Full-color illustrations drawn digitally and inked traditionally with a watercolor brush and ink on paper.
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School Library Journal
Gr 5-8-After a fight with her best friend, Victoria leaves fancy Waverly Stables for lower key Edgewood, where her plan is to focus on riding, not friendship. She rebuffs unofficial assistant barn manager Norrie's warm welcome, infuriating Norrie, who tries to get her best friend Hazel and "the only boy," Sam, to shun Victoria too. But when Victoria discovers that all three of them are fans of an old sci-fi show called Beyond the Galaxy, she apologizes to Norrie and becomes friends with all three-and explains her behavior. Vic's ex-best friend Taylor gave her the cold shoulder when Victoria said she loved horses but no longer wanted to compete-partly because of the expense, which her family couldn't afford. Hicks uses flashbacks effectively to show what happened between Victoria and Taylor, as well as Victoria's parents' divorce. Secondary characters, including horse friends and siblings, are well developed with different personalities, interests, and problems of their own. The Edgewood friends support one another, and through good listening and wise advice, they make one another braver. There is also something romantic simmering between Victoria and Sam, but it's mostly eye contact and blushes. Norrie and Sam have brown skin and dark hair; Hazel and Victoria have light skin and freckles. Three to five panels per page, often horizontal to accommodate the horses, result in passages with excellent pacing. VERDICT A "perfect ride" of a graphic novel that shows that there really is something special about horse friends.-Jenny Arch?(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.