THE HUNGRY PLACE

A pampered, then abused, pony finds her horse-crazy girl.

The novel starts from the tightly focused third-person point of view of a filly being born. Soon named Princess, she’s the last foal out of breeder Roland’s favorite Connemara mare. The perspective then shifts to Rae, a horse-obsessed almost-8-year-old who lives nearby. Rae’s mom is dead; though they live on a small farm, her father can’t afford a pony. Her grandmother, however, encourages her to keep working toward her goal, so, as a few years pass, Rae goes to horse shows, watches frenemy Eden’s riding lessons, and practices on a horse statue her dad makes from scrap metal. Meanwhile, chapters from Princess’ point of view detail how her pampered life amounts to neglect. When Roland suffers a stroke, his cartoon-villain employees abscond with his riches, leaving a field of ponies, including Princess, to starve. Eventually Princess is rescued by Tish, a character familiar from some of Haas’ other horse books (Jigsaw Pony, illustrated by Ying-Hwa Hu, 2005, etc.), and ridden by Rae, who’s saved up for Tish’s riding camp. Love ensues, as does a patented happy ending. Clumsy characterization and a predictable plot make for dull reading despite a fair amount of melodrama. Roland is strangely unlikable, and Rae feels one-dimensional. All the human characters are White.

Haas has done much better—a disappointment.