July 2014, 212 pages, Ebook, Review copy
Book summary
Nadia Wells has spent her life trying to convince her parents that
horses are a necessity but despite her best efforts, they see them only
as an extravagant luxury. After landing her dream job mucking stalls in
exchange for riding lessons, a wealthy philanthropist recognizes Nadia’s
talent and decides to invest in her. Purchasing a mare nicknamed Winny,
Nadia is sure she’s bound for equestrian greatness but on the cusp of
their most challenging three-day event yet, Winny bucks Nadia off in
front of a crowd of her peers.
Humiliated and fuming, Nadia makes a
birthday wish that she could better understand her horse. The next
morning, she wakes up to discover she has four hooves and a tail
swishing between her legs: she and Winny have switched places! If life
as a teenage-girl-turned-show-horse wasn't hard enough, Nadia has to
figure out a way to tell the dashing Mike how she feels or risk losing
him and the competition to the talented, gorgeous and spoiled Gretchen.
Will the pair concede defeat or work together to overcome the
impossible and be headed for the win?
Nayu's thoughts
It was a pleasure for me to review this book, as Rachael had found out I enjoy horse books and wanted to know my opinion on her work. This
is a heartwarming horse tale about friendship and generosity – how
many people happily buy a horse and pay for someone who doesn't have
money to ride them? It was an opportunity of a lifetime for Nadia,
who overreacted in the early stages of getting to know Winny leading
to an incredible change. There were so many things Nadia struggled to
get to grips with being in a horse form: as a non-rider I enjoyed
learning more about horse biology, including what horses need to
do/avoid to stay healthy.
The
biggest challenge for Nadia is communication. She can't speak, but
thankfully Winny, who has taken Nadia's body, is able to help Nadia
to survive being a horse. It was funny how Nadia's family and friends
reacted to the body switch. They didn't know the truth, but both
Winny and Nadia muddle through the situation, with Winny giving Nadia
insight not only to what Winny (the horse) needs, but also how Nadia
needs to treat others. It was a bit frustrating for both me and Nadia
when a few occasions happened during the body switch which Nadia
missed out on, but I promise it's worth it in the end – and yes
they switch back!
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