Coming Home (Heartland #1)

Heartland is a horse farm with the special mission of healing abused or neglected horses and finding them new homes. Fifteen-year-old Amy works alongside her talented mother, a gifted horse trainer who uses techniques similar to those of the trainer in The Horse Whisperer. While rescuing an abandoned stallion in a thunderstorm, Amy's mother is killed when a falling tree hits their car, and everything at Heartland--and everything in Amy's life--is thrown into turmoil. Amy's older sister, Lou, leaves her job to come to Heartland to help, and Amy begins to cope with the new circumstances of her life, relying on her work with her beloved horses to help her face the future without her mom.

Fans of the Saddle Club, Pine Hollow, and Thoroughbred series of horse novels will enjoy this sensitively told story that combines lots of authentic horse-farm details with Amy's challenges in dealing with her bossy older sister and her mom's sudden death. The story of Heartland is continued in After the Storm. (Ages 8 to 12) --Marcie Bovetz