June 2016 Book of the Month - In a Nutshell: Awe-inspiring • Odds-defying • Dream-chasing • Horse-racing
Exhilarating equine epic about following your dreams and overcoming obstacles, set in the ruthless world of horse racing.
Jay is an outsider. Since her mum died (her dad vanished before she was born), she’s lived with her dodgy Uncle Bill, aloof step-aunt and cousin Michaela. Life may not have dealt Jay the best cards – the odds are stacked against her - but she has a “dangerous, unstoppable” fire in her belly. When in the saddle, she's no longer “the kid in the shadows that nobody notices”, and she’s determined to fulfill her mum’s dying wish that she stays true to her dreams.
Jay’s pluck and potential become clear when she wins the first “unofficial” horse race Uncle Bill enters her in. More illegal races follow until Jay runs away to Newmarket, the home of racing, after being insulted by the cousin she was once close to. Here she wheedles her way into working as a stable lad and bonds with a mare called Manhattan. Dismissed as a “jinx” and a “freak”, the mare is due to be put down, and so Jay determines to save the horse, and to make it a winner.
Throughout, Jay experiences firsthand how tough it still is to be female in the male-dominated domain of racing, but she won’t give up. With its inspirational message, and a plot that unfurls at a galloping pace, you'll be rooting for Jay the whole way though, with your heart pounding as you will her to triumph over every setback. ~ Joanne Owen
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