A Very Good Chance

LoveReading4Kids Says

In a Nutshell: Taking a chance  |  Choose your own path  |  A heart-warming tale about friendship and finding yourself, with added horse-driven adrenalin. 

There are two outcasts in Minty’s class, Ned and Martin. Neither of them speak and they both “disappear at random times of the day for no obvious reason”. Martin stops coming to class after a horse-riding accident, which makes King of School Brendan snort with mocking laughter. From the moment Ned tells Brendan not to “talk about things you don't understand” things begin to change, especially for Minty. Firstly, she finds out that her parents are splitting up, which prompts ever-frequent trips to the refuge of Nettlebog Lane, a magical out-of-bounds place that gives her a “mad, free kind of feeling that makes you want to shout”. Minty’s deeper exploration of Nettlebog Lane leads to a second big change, for she discovers that Ned and his kindly gran live here in a caravan. Minty finds herself drawn to him, awed by the freedom he radiates, and by his affinity with horses. In fact, Ned’s talents are such that he’s planning to enter the local Ballycross Race. While Ned is seen by most as a delinquent, he has another ally in “sparkly and magic” teacher Serena. She tells the class that in her hometown, Siena, Ned would be worshipped for his riding prowess. Serena’s majestic description of the dramatic race that takes place in Siena’s Piazza del Campo has Ned and Minty enthralled. But not everyone in town is able to see past their misguided prejudices, and it’s going to take something – and someone - pretty special to save what Ned holds dear…

Minty evokes the magic of Nettlebog Lane with sensory wonder: yellow flowers are “butter-coloured blankets of bloom”; pink blossoms are “mini bundles of candy floss”. And both Ned and Minty are characters you warm to completely. How can your heart not melt when Minty realises, through Ned, that, “you don’t have to accept anyone else’s version of you. It’s much more exciting to invent your own version. You get to decide what that version is like”. This lovely life-affirming, lyrical tale is perfect for bridging the path between middle grade and teen fiction. ~ Joanne Owen

LoveReading4Kids

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