Books For Keeps
  • Home
  • Reviews
  • Articles
  • Past Issues
  • Latest Issue
  • Authors and Artists
  • Latest News
  • Search
  • Menu Menu
March 1, 2012/in Fiction 10-14 Middle/Secondary /by Angie Hill
BfK Rating:
BfK 193 March 2012
Reviewer: Andrea Reece
ISBN: 978-1444002690
Price: £9.99
Publisher: Orion Children's Books
Genre: Fiction
Age Range: 10-14 Middle/Secondary
Length: 320pp
Buy the Book

The One Dollar Horse

Author: Lauren St John

‘More than anything on earth I’d love to be flying over mad jumps on a horse with wings and competing against the world’s greatest riders, but those kind of things never happen to girls like me.’ So says heroine Casey Blue at the beginning of Lauren St John’s hugely enjoyable horse story. Of course, as we know very well, in the best pony stories those kind of things absolutely do happen.

Casey lives in inner-city Hackney and helps out at the shabby riding school nearby. Walking home one evening with her father, a crazed horse leaps out of nowhere, nearly crushing her.  This is Silver Cyclone and he’s on his way to the knackers.  Using the dollar bill they had just found in the gutter Casey and her father buy the horse, and she sets about nursing him back to strength. Despite the hardships they face Casey and the renamed Storm Warning will go to the ball – or in this case, the Badminton horse trials!

Lauren St John invests the story with a pace and a passion that prevents it from ever seeming formulaic.  Casey is a believable teenager, as stubborn and reckless as her horse. Her relationship with Storm is finely observed and described and readers will lap up the tips on horse lore and care, as we watch them gradually learning to trust each other. The supporting cast of adults are equally interesting and unusual too: Casey’s ex con dad, who is tricked into a terrible betrayal of his daughter; Mrs Smith, her eccentric benefactor; only love interest the blacksmith Peter feels a little wooden, but then how can any mere mortal boy compete in the romance stakes with the glorious Storm!

The One Dollar Horse is certain to be huge favourite with readers and will bear comparison with classic horse stories by authors such as Patricia Leitch and K M Peyton.

Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png 0 0 Angie Hill http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png Angie Hill2012-03-01 00:00:312022-01-14 18:35:30The One Dollar Horse

Search for a specific review

Author Search

Search







Generic filters




Filter by Member Types


Book Author

Download BfK Issue BfK 263 November 2023
Skip to an Issue:

About Us

Launched in 1980, we’ve reviewed hundreds of new children’s books each year and published articles on every aspect of writing for children.

Read More

Follow Us

Latest News

Latest CLPE Reflecting Realities survey shows sustained upward trend in the volume of inclusive literature for children

November 30, 2023

Winners of 2023 SLA Information Book Award

November 23, 2023

Nero Book Awards Announce Inaugural Shortlist

November 21, 2023

Contact Us

Books for Keeps,
30 Winton Avenue,
London,
N11 2AT

Telephone: 0780 789 3369

ISSN: 0143-909X (this is our International Standard Serial Number).

© Copyright 2023 - Books For Keeps | Proudly Built by Lemongrass Media - Web Design Buckinghamshire
Ash Mistry and the Savage Fortress Kiss Date Love Hate
Scroll to top