Horse Diaries #10: Darcy

By Whitney Sanderson and Ruth Sanderson

Ireland, 1917. Darcy is a light gray Connemara pony with silver dapples. She's fast and tough, whether she's pulling a load of peat from the bog or riding around the rugged countryside with Shannon McKenna, her human family's eldest daughter. But when Mrs. McKenna needs a doctor, Darcy discovers a skill that will change her and her family's life forever. Like Black Beauty, this moving novel is told in first person from the horse's point of view and includes an appendix full of photos and facts about Connemara ponies and Irish history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Jan 8, 2013
• ISBN: 9780307976369

Whitney Sanderson

Whitney Sanderson grew up riding horses as a member of a 4-H club and competing in local jumping and dressage shows. She has written several books in the Horse Diaries chapter book series. She is also the author of Horse Rescue: Treasure, based on her time volunteering at an equine rescue farm. She lives in Massachusetts.

Reviews for Horse Diaries #10

[heather19_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

*spoilers*This was a pretty decent book. I really felt for Darcy in the beginning: She was born the same day as another foal, and they started their lives as best friends. Darcy looked to the other young horse for guidance, so when she fell off the cliff and died Darcy was kind of lost. For a long time she mourned over her friend, but then she got sold to the McKenna family. She works hard for the family, and when the eldest daughter, Shannon, gets into it with the snobby rich son of their rich landlord, a race is called. Darcy and Shannon win the race by cutting through the bog, a place the other horse can't get through. I thought that was awesome, that Darcy was able to pick her way through the bog in order to beat the other horse; Darcy knew her way through the bog because the other daughter had ridden her through there as a shortcut to the doctor's when their mother got sick. Add in the eldest son going off to war, and coming back with a missing leg and (temporarily) broken spirit, and this was a fine book. Once again I was very impressed with the beautiful illustrations, too.