Review by Booklist Review
Bea, 13, and younger sister Vivian are secretly abandoned by their father on the farm of their late mother's friend. After Bea rescues a temperamental chestnut horse with colic, the girls are discovered by the farm owner, Mrs. Millicent Scott, whose brisk demeanor initially dissuades Bea from revealing their connection. That "beaten-up horse and beaten-down girl" prove quite a pair and potentially Mrs. Scott's best hope of saving her farm from foreclosure. Bea shows resilience as she confronts hardships and navigates life within her newfound family. Riding terminology and Virginia hunt-country gentility infuse the emotional text while Depression-era cultural facts, economics, and racial tensions color interactions among side characters. An extensive note details Elliott's (Louisa June and the Nazis in the Waves, 2022) admiration for notable female horseback riders as well as research that informed this work. Distrustful but determined Bea has a lot riding on her, but she harnesses her stubbornness amidst sorrow in this blue-ribbon pick for fans of Kimberly Brubaker Bradley's The War That Saved My Life (2015).
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In a richly characterized novel set against a precisely drawn Great Depression backdrop, a resourceful 13-year-old enters horse competitions to stave off bankruptcy at her adopted home. Awakening in the hayloft of a once-grand Virginia horse farm, Beatrice Davis is horrified to discover that her father has abandoned her and her eight-year-old sister, Vivian, "like unwanted kittens." Claiming that he cannot care for them, the former banker leaves a note suggesting that they appeal to the farm's owner, Mrs. Scott, whose daughter knew the girls' late mother. Horse-loving Bea soon saves a feisty chestnut with colic, forging a unique connection with the horse and alerting Mrs. Scott to their presence. The formidable woman, once a renowned horse trainer, is loath to take on additional dependents, but she keeps the sisters on to work after an accident incapacitates her only stable hand. As Bea endeavors to become indispensable and learns more about the rural community's Depression-era plight, she trains to compete with the difficult horse. Elliott (Louisa June and the Nazis in the Waves) nimbly layers historical events--including the devastating effects of the stock market crash and FDR's promise of a "New Deal"--and equine details into an engrossing novel for fans of The War That Saved My Life. Protagonists read as white; a secondary character cues as Black. Ages 10--up. Agent: Katelyn Detweiler, Jill Grinberg Literary Management. (Mar.)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 3--7--This fits snugly within the canon of plucky girls overcoming massive trials. Written in the vein of A Little Princess or Anne of Green Gables, this title sets the titular Beatrice in the depths of America's Great Depression. Bea's father abandons her and her younger sister Vivian on the farm of a distant and rather prickly acquaintance, Mrs. Scott. Although she's hesitant about the two foundlings, Mrs. Scott soon finds a use for them on her floundering farm. Once Bea, who is white, reveals her innate horse training sense, there's hope and great risk on the horizon as the women try to save the farm through taming a traumatized horse. Bea's journey is gorgeously told through refined but accessible writing. The conflicts are heartbreaking without a heavy hand. The scenes of horse jumping are equally exhilarating and exhausting, enough to make any horse skeptic a full-on fan. With a dash of social issues through veterans, racism, and the Hoover/FDR presidential race, Elliott's novel is as informative as it is entertaining. VERDICT A gorgeous, almost bygone-era tale of overcoming adversity, full of wisdom for all. Upper elementary students, high schoolers, and beyond can learn resilience and wisdom from these characters.--Cat McCarrey
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A girl competes on a dangerous horse in a Depression-era effort to save a family farm. It's not her family's farm: Thirteen-year-old Beatrice Davis and her 8-year-old sister, Vivian, have been riding the rails with their father. Two years ago, when Daddy lost his bank job in Richmond, they lost everything, including Bea's pony. Then Mama died. Now Daddy's abandoned them in a hayloft belonging to Mama's Sweet Briar College friend's mother. The girls successfully stay hidden until Bea reveals their existence by saving one of Mrs. Scott's horses from colic. Cantankerous Mrs. Scott allows them to stay in exchange for picking peaches but soon enlists Bea to help attract rich buyers by riding some of her horses in an upcoming show--including a beautiful chestnut who's hurt several people. Elliott weaves in historical threads: near-historic droughts in Virginia in 1930 and 1932, 1919 race riots in which Black World War I veterans were attacked, the racially integrated Bonus Army's 1932 march to Washington, and presidential hopeful Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. Bea is a vivid, sympathetic character. She and Mrs. Scott stand up to their multitude of losses with brave honesty and pragmatism, and the victories they achieve feel earned. Elliott knows horses down to her toes. Main characters are White; major supporting character Malachi is a Black veteran blinded during a parade in the U.S. in honor of his regiment. Hurrah for bold riders and the horses who love them. (author's note, selected sources) (Historical fiction. 9-14) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
