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Finding Wonder by Lauren St John

Martha Terry Martha Terry

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    • Finding Wonder by Lauren St John

    Score

    10/10

    Price as reviewed:

    £6.49 for paperback

    Title: Finding Wonder
    Author: Lauren St John
    Published: 7 September 2023

    Available as paperback, Kindle edition or Audiobook
    View now at amazon.co.uk

    About Finding Wonder by Lauren St John

    Orphaned Roo Thorn feels like the unluckiest girl in the world. Until she discovers a letter. A letter which urges her to “Grab life by the wings and fly”.

    With the help of her aunt, Joni, Roo sets out to buy her dream horse – a fiery showjumper named Wonder Boy.

    Then Wonder vanishes without a trace.

    Determined to save him, Roo and Joni investigate his disappearance. But as the mystery deepens and more prize horses are stolen, the pair find themselves drawn into a thrilling – but dangerous – adventure . . .

    How far will they go, and what will they risk, to find Wonder?

    Review

    Finding Wonder by Lauren St John is a superbly told adventure story that I found completely enthralling. The plot is rich and the characters are engaging. As in all great detective stories, you never quite know whom to trust, and how the mystery will unravel.

    There’s an element of Dick Francis to it, in the skulduggery involved at the heart of a top-level stable yard, though this is set in the showjumping rather than racing world. But there are similarities in a minnow – in this case a 12-year-old orphaned girl and her non-horsey aunt – endeavouring to fix a major crime through their own brain and brawn. As with Dick Francis, the horsey details are authentic and tangible.

    I loved the two main characters, the girl and her aunt, they were feisty, brave and intelligent, while the baddies aren’t stereotypical and you have to guess a bit to work out who is the real villain. It ends, as all good adventure stories should, with a rip-roaring chase scene with the goodies coming out on top.

    However, the ending isn’t quite the cheesy finale you might expect from a children’s story – and much the better for it. It made for a satisfying conclusion and a gentle moralising touch that money can’t buy happiness (or your dream horse), which is arguably something that readers of all ages need to heed!

    Finding Wonder is marketed at nine to 12-year-olds, however I think older children would also enjoy this swashbuckling spin in a fantastical showjumping world – I certainly did.

    Verdict

    An exciting and dramatic adventure story celebrating friendship, family, and of course horses. Told in a wonderfully immersive style that grips you from start to finish. For me, one of the best horsey books for children.

    View now at amazon.co.uk

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    Martha Terry
    Martha Terry

    H&H features editor
    Martha is an experienced journalist who is mad-keen on dogs of all shapes and sizes. After growing up with assorted liver and white springer spaniels, she enjoyed 14 years with two rescue dogs, one a street dog from Gambia who was abandoned at three weeks old. Now, her constant companion, whether by her feet at her desk or walking cross-country courses, is Fidget, an extremely energetic and habitually muddy black and white springer. Martha has written on topics as diverse as a top horse’s clone to the best GPS trackers for dogs, as well as equestrian and rural matters for Country Life, The Field, The Times, The Spectator and The Telegraph alongside Horse & Hound.
    Martha Terry

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