Ellie believes that she will live in her little village on the coast of Nova Scotia for always. But when her father gets a job on Sable Island, she must say farewell to her beloved home and her mother's final resting place. Not even the idea of seeing the wild horses that roam the island can ease the pain of leaving. And after arriving on the sandy, windswept crescent of land, Ellie feels adrift and alone...until one afternoon when she wakens on a dune to find herself looking into the curious eyes of a wild stallion. Little by little, as the days pass, Ellie gets closer to the beautiful chocolate-colored horse. Yet she soon discovers something that could take him away from his home, his herd and her. Ellie has lost so much already. Will she lose her island horse, too?
My Review:
Susan Hughes clearly has only the best intention and inspiration for writing the novel, but as the saying goes, the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Admittedly, The Island Horse is far from hell but it is rather dull and by no means a pleasurable page turning read.
Set in the early 1800s, Ellie is a nine-year-old dealing with the death of her mother and a move away from the only home she's ever known to a remote island that she laments is not fit for human life. Perhaps because I'm use to modern kids who tend to be coddled by over-protective parents, I have a hard to finding Ellie's maturity believable. She's nine years old and baking bread, preparing meals and taking care of herself for long, lonely days while her father works.
The plot development in this novelette is very rough. Not enough quality time is given to making Ellie's attachment to her island horse, Orchid, believable or even her budding relationship with the only other little girl on Sable Island. There's a lot of untapped potential as far as the plot goes. This was especially evident after I read the Arthur's Note at the end of the book. It's a brief history lesson about the real Sable Island and how Susan Hughes made the decision to write this novelette.
This book is geared towards children seven to 10 years old. The writing is very simple and straightforward. There are no pictures but there are small black and white sketches at the beginning of each chapter.
2.5/5
About the book:
The Island Horse by Susan Hughes
ISBN: 978-1554535927
Publisher: Kids Can Press
Date of publish: March 1, 2012
Pages: 160
S.R.P.: $16.95
About the author:
Susan Hughes is an award-winning author whose books include Case Closed?, No Girls Allowed, Earth to Audrey and Virginia. She has loved horses since she was a child and has long dreamed of setting a story on Sable Island. Susan lives in Toronto, Ontario.
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