Casey Blue lives in a tower block in East London with her father who's a convicted thief but dreams of winning one of the greatest horse riding competitions: the Badminton Horse Trials. She already volunteers at a local riding school but can't afford any lessons, let alone her own horse. That is until she rescues a horse that's not far from death for a dollar and she starts to dream the impossible. Can she overcome her father's criminal record, become the youngest ever winner against the odds and can love find a place in her life?
Okay so I'm not a woman who's crazy about horses or a girly girl or anything like that and so this is not normally my sort of book but I thought I'd give it a chance on the recommendation of a friend. I never expected it to be anything special and so I was caught completely by surprise when I couldn't put it down! It is absolutely brilliant! It's been a while since a book has taken me on such an emotional roller coaster. I fell in love with Casey. She is strong, honest and fantastic and you can't help but stand in her corner, experiencing her elation and frustrations with her. As things start going well I became fearful that hurt was around the corner. When betrayal comes it is truly heartbreaking and I found that I was desperate for Mrs Smith to save the day. For once the dreamy love interest isn't the main focus of the story and is actually handled very realistically as boys definitely come second to horses in a lot of horse-crazy girls' lives! The story is well-structured and well-written. This book is beautifully finished, with the paperback edition coming with beautiful pink edged pages that match the back cover and a front cover that reflects the stormy colour of Casey's horse. It's also free from any fantasy elements and has the feel of a classic. It is slightly predictable but that doesn't take anything away from this book's brilliance, and in some ways it even enhances it as you know something bad will happen no matter how desperately you don't want it to. The One Dollar Horse is the kind of book that can be enjoyed across the age range, from teen to adult and is one that I thoroughly recommend!
I give it 10/10!
Title: The One Dollar Horse
Author: Lauren St John
Publisher: Orion
Teenage Fiction
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