Dark Horses

July 4, 2016
Gossip Girl author Von Ziegesar turns her attention to the competitive horse show circuit. Seventeen-year-old loner Merritt Wenner, still mourning her grandmother’s unexpected death a year ago, resorts to destructive behavior that gets her self-absorbed parents to seek help for her at an equine therapy program in Connecticut. There Merritt meets Red, an unruly former racehorse. Riding together cements their bond and leads Merritt to train and compete with Red alongside an attractive Californian named Carvin, with Beatrice, an unstable teen, as Red’s groom. Alternating narratives switch between the viewpoints of Merritt and Red, the latter an unusual choice that doesn’t entirely pay off: while it foreshadows the dangerous extent of Red’s intense feelings for Merritt, his frequent invoking of misheard song lyrics (“We were an island in the stream. Sweet dreams were made of bliss”) and other anthropomorphized commentary tends to grate as the plot intensifies. Still, Von Ziegesar’s knowledge of equestrian competition and the compelling pairing of a troubled horse with an equally scarred teenager make this an engaging, if somewhat predictable read. Ages 14–up. Agent: Eric Brown, Franklin, Weinrib, Rudell & Vassallo.

June 15, 2016
A troubled teen finds her temporary soul mate in a troubled horse. At Red's only race, the 3-year-old thoroughbred jumps the track rails and causes a terrific accident. Mr. de Rothschild, a wealthy white man (everyone seems to be white in this book except Luis, a Latino groom), buys him for his troubled 18-year-old daughter, Beatrice, but when, unsurprisingly, she can't handle him, he donates the horse to a therapeutic equine center he has founded. Merritt, 17, arrives there after going on the lam from her private Manhattan school's SAT. Although the patients don't actually ride the horses, Merritt rides Red, and the two form an immediate, unrealistic bond. Without any training the young horse and occasional pleasure rider are suddenly capable of tackling a course of fences. De Rothschild sees dollar signs and shoves the pair into the high-end show circuit, with Beatrice along as groom. Merritt flirts with Beatrice but falls for a dishy boy rider; Red becomes jealous; trouble ensues. The narration alternates in chapters between Merritt and Red, who comes off as an equine version of an abusive boyfriend. Von Ziegesar, known for her Gossip Girls series, nails teen dialogue and horse-show society, but her side characters are all cardboard cutouts, and her plot is a hopeless, melodramatic morass; the horse-as-thwarted-lover aspect feels icky in the extreme. A soap-operatic blend of Romeo and Juliet and My Friend Flicka. Yikes. (Fiction. 12-16)

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July 1, 2016

Gr 8 Up-Von Ziegesar, best known for the "Gossip Girl" series, makes a solid return to the world of privileged and troubled teens. Merritt Wenner has been struggling with just about everything since the death of her beloved grandmother and her grandmother's horse. When she crosses the line, her parents send her to Good Fences, an equine therapy program for troubled girls. Merritt strikes an unusual connection with Red, a wild and aggressive horse whom nobody else can control. Their bond makes Merritt a standout rider, and she and Red soon find themselves stars of the competition circuit. As she builds relationships with her groom and another rider, Merritt begins to heal, but the horse becomes increasingly possessive and jealous, with disastrous results. This work alternates points of view between Merritt and Red. This is as effective as it is entertaining. Red makes a complex and somewhat unpredictable antagonist, and once a radio is placed in his stall, his sections are peppered with song lyrics, which provide much-needed levity as his possessiveness turns threatening. Other than Merritt, the human characters are a fairly stock combination of the rich and the miserable, but it's unlikely teens will pay them much mind as they read on to see what Red will do next. VERDICT While Von Ziegesar's original fans have long since moved on to adulthood, this page-turner will draw in a whole new audience, with just the right blend of glamor, scandal, and horses. Recommended for public and high school libraries.-Elizabeth Saxton, Tiffin, OH

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2016
Grades 9-12 Since the deaths of her beloved grandmother and her grandmother's horse, Merritt has been out of control. The final straw comes when she walks out in the middle of the SAT and is sent to Good Fences, an equine therapy program, where she meets Red, an angry, destructive ex-racehorse, and bonds with him when no one else can. Soon the two are excelling on the show circuit, but things still slip out of Merritt's control as she balances growing attractions to Beatrice, Red's groom, and Carvin, a competing rider. In an homage to Black Beauty, the first-person narration is split between Merritt and Red. The horse's narration can be perplexing (he's oddly familiar with U.S. landmarks and pop culture), and his animosityand unhorsely murderous tendenciestoward Merritt's potential love interests is often uncomfortably absurd. Still, though Merritt's overnight transition into a top jumper strains credulity, the competitive riding world is always a draw, and this is an intriguing look into its dark side. If that weren't enough, von Ziegesar's (the Gossip Girl series) name alone will spur readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)