Finding Wonder by Lauren St John
Price as reviewed:
£6.49 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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