THE NIGHT RIDE

A stable girl rides in illegal races so she can buy the horse of her dreams.

Sonnia would rather lead pony rides than attend school, and she lives for the afternoons when she’s allowed to groom and exercise Ricochet, one of the messenger horses in the fictional, quasi-medieval kingdom of Mael Dunn. Though her family is poor, with nearly no hope of advancement, Sonnia is saving her coppers to someday buy him. When Ricochet is sent to the king’s stables to be a companion for the high-strung racehorse Perihelion, Sonnia tags along and discovers that Deirdre, her childhood babysitter, is now a jockey there. Deirdre isn’t as friendly as Sonnia remembers, but she arranges for Sonnia to be taken on as a stable hand, which Sonnia soon learns is a cover for the young people riding in the dangerous and illegal Night Rides. Though she assumes her new companions are wealthy, she soon discovers they’re from desperate backgrounds like herself, in need of the money the purses provide. Sonnia is an engaging character with grit and determination, dreaming of the impossible while trying to survive in a hardscrabble world. The politics of the racecourse and the kingdom are confusing, however, and in the end, problems are solved externally in a way young readers may find disappointing. Most characters default to White.

Engaging, true-to-life horse content will satisfy many.