This has strong reader appeal, but an equestrian expert reader could have improved it fourfold.
Follows a seventh grader’s quest to move from novice rider to being one of the #HorseGirls.
Despite being entirely horse crazy, Wills (short for Willa) was only allowed to start lessons at a riding stable in her Nebraska town when her mom, an Air Force pilot, was deployed overseas for a year. Wills doesn’t tend to make friends easily, but when she falls off on her first attempt at jumping a fence, someone at Oakwood Riding Academy sends her an encouraging note, and she’s determined to find out who it is. Hijinks ensue, some of them more realistic than others. Eventually Wills triumphs in a jumper competition; saves her favorite horse, Clyde, from being sent to auction; and befriends everyone, including top mean girl Amara. Melodrama, angst, over-the-top writing, and clever footnotes make this a quick, breezy read for tweens. Some horse-related elements do not ring true—for example, the handling of both lameness and recruiting for the U.S. national equestrian team is unrealistic—which may keep knowledgeable #HorseGirls from completely buying into the action. Riding is presented as being primarily for rich kids, which feels like a missed opportunity to show a more inclusive side of the sport. The novel adheres to a White default although the author cues some characters as people of color. (This updated review reflects edits made to the book after the original review was published.)
This has strong reader appeal, but an equestrian expert reader could have improved it fourfold. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: March 30, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-09548-5
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: Dec. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
Fast-paced and plot-driven.
In his latest, prolific author Gratz takes on Hitler’s Olympic Games.
When 13-year-old American gymnast Evie Harris arrives in Berlin to compete in the 1936 Olympic Games, she has one goal: stardom. If she can bring home a gold medal like her friend, the famous equestrian-turned-Hollywood-star Mary Brooks, she might be able to lift her family out of their Dust Bowl poverty. But someone slips a strange note under Evie’s door, and soon she’s dodging Heinz Fischer, the Hitler Youth member assigned to host her, and meeting strangers who want to make use of her gymnastic skills—to rob a bank. As the games progress, Evie begins to see the moral issues behind their sparkling facade—the antisemitism and racism inherent in Nazi ideology and the way Hitler is using the competition to support and promote these beliefs. And she also agrees to rob the bank. Gratz goes big on the Mission Impossible–style heist, which takes center stage over the actual competitions, other than Jesse Owens’ famous long jump. A lengthy and detailed author’s note provides valuable historical context, including places where Gratz adapted the facts for storytelling purposes (although there’s no mention of the fact that before 1952, Olympic equestrian sports were limited to male military officers). With an emphasis on the plot, many of the characters feel defined primarily by how they’re suffering under the Nazis, such as the fictional diver Ursula Diop, who was involuntarily sterilized for being biracial.
Fast-paced and plot-driven. (Historical fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781338736106
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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