PHOENIX (BOOK 1 in the RIDE ON SERIES)

PHOENIX by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

I am always on the hunt for a great girl/horse story. One of my daughters grew up loving and riding horses and still does! Everyday I spend part of my day with our two horses! When I saw that Kimberly Brubaker Bradley had a new series coming out involving horses. I couldn't wait to get my hands on it. So, I got a copy, settled in to read, and I am sad to say that this was almost a DNF book for me.

The book starts off with a heart-wrenching event. Harper's dad is caught in an affair with her best friend's mom who lives across the street. The book doesn't go into detail about how they're found, but Harper's mom finds them. There are no details given, but we can assume what she stumbled upon. Almost as terrible as the act itself is the possibility that Harper's best friend may have known it was going on. Looking for a new start to life, Harper and her mom decide to pack up and move away.

They rent a tiny house next to a riding barn. Every day, Harper sees kids coming and going for their lessons and taking care of the horses. Between the barn and school, she begins the hard process of learning to trust and make friends again.

One afternoon a truck with a load of slaughter bound horses unexpectedly pulls into their driveway. One of the horses is unable to stand in the trailer causing issues for the other horses. The driver is looking to offload it somewhere to die and noticed all the pastures with horses. Unable to bear the thought of this horse not having a chance of making it, Harper jumps at the chance to help it. The horse is emaciated and can't stand on its own. Thus begins the process of a girl who's hurting attempting to save a horse that is hurting.

There's a lot to this story that is very moving. It's clear that Bradley knows horses and is able to write about them and situations like this with experience. The story is very believable whether the reader has horse knowledge or not.

So what makes this book a borderline DNF for me?

HEADS UP - I am on the fence about the initial situation that sets this whole book in motion. That's going to be an age appropriate/discussion opportunity decision.

This book is not for sensitive kids. When Harper and her mom come to their new home, they pass by a house that has dead chickens hanging on the line. The family that lives there butchers chickens to sell. Also, the idea of horses being shipped to Canada or Mexico for slaughter may be upsetting. While both these topics are true, for some kids it may be a struggle to think about.

The lady who runs the riding stable is married to a woman. This is mentioned in passing approx. two times in the story.

There is a character named Night that appears several times in this book. When Harper meets Night there is an immediate clarification on pronouns. Night goes by they/them/their. This makes reading the book confusing. In one paragraph, them and their refer to Night, but in following paragraphs it refers to the plural group of kids that are hanging out together. There are several spots in the book where a pause is needed to figure out who the plural form of the pronouns are referring to. It can become frustrating.