2022 Silver Medal Finalist for the Midwest Book Award, 2018 Royal Dragonfly Book Award Winner - Honorable Mention for Newbie Author

2023 Eric Hoffer Nominee Award, 2022 First Place Purple Dragonfly Book Award Winner for Middle Grade Fiction

Two horses. No choice. How do you move on?

What will 13-year-old Cassie do when she unexpectedly finds a threatening note buried in her show trunk from an unknown informant, warning her that she'd better watch out or face serious consequences if she and her new hunter mare, Snowdrops, continue to win blue ribbons? Will she cave in or set her heart on achieving her goals to qualify for the fall Children's Equitation Championship despite the odds against her? Who left the note? Would somebody really hurt her or her horse? It couldn't be her best friend from 3rd grade, could it?On top of the horse-show drama, Cassie experiences her first dance and crush, along with the challenges she and her friends face as they move through eighth grade. She will also face the hardest decision of her young life - a decision she puts off as long as she can.

When eighth grader Abby Lovitt looks out at those pure-gold rolling hills, she knows there’s no place she’d rather be than her family’s ranch—even with all the hard work of tending to nine horses. But some chores are no work at all, like grooming young Jack. At eight months, his rough foal coat has shed out, leaving a smooth, rich silk, like chocolate. As for Black George, such a good horse, it turns out he’s a natural jumper. When he and Abby clear four feet easy as pie, heads start to turn at the ring—buyers’ heads—and Abby knows Daddy won’t turn down a good offer. Then a letter arrives from a private investigator, and suddenly Abby stands to lose not one horse but two. The letter states that Jack’s mare may have been sold to the Lovitts as stolen goods. A mystery unfolds, more surprising than Abby could ever expect. Will she lose her beloved Jack to his rightful owners? Pulitzer Prize winner Jane Smiley raises horses of her own, and her affection and expertise shine through in this inviting horse novel for young readers, set in 1960s California horse country and featuring characters from The Georges and the Jewels.

When a young girl named Kale and her parents are called to the Oak Ridge Racing Stables, they have no idea that they were about to be involved in one of the greatest mysteries in the stable's history. Something is spooking the horses and making them too nervous to race, and staff members are resigning because of how the horses keep bolting and charging unexpectedly. The owner of the stables is worried that he might have to sell the horses and close down the stables, but Kale desperately wants to do something to help. Kale has always loved horses, but will that be enough to save the future of the stables or will the answer to the mystery lie in a gorgeous black stallion that seems to trust only one very special girl? Find out in this first book of the series A Shadow of Hope!