Book Review: A Horse Called Wonder

A Horse Called Wonder by Joanna Campbell

Category: Young Adult/Children


Synopsis: From the back of the book: Ashleigh Griffen swore she’d never give her heart to another horse—not after a terrible disease wiped out her family’s breeding farm along with Ashleigh’s favourite mare, Stardust. Now the Griffens are starting over as breeding managers at Townsend Acres, and Ashleigh’s sure she is going to hate living there. Then a small, sickly foal is born—a beautiful copper filly that looks like Stardust. No one thinks the foal will liver or that it’s worth trying to save. No one but Ashleigh. Can one girl’s love alone work miracles.


My Thoughts: I read this book for the Childhood Favourites Challenge. At the start of the book Ashleigh is in 6th grade. I was probably in 7th when I read the book. Over the next two or three years I read most of the books in the series, several times. I wanted to move to Kentucky and be a jockey. Then we got horses of our own and I realised just how much work they were :D.

This book was just as comfortable a read now as it was back then. And I could read it just as belie fast. Although I knew what happened in it I still felt a pang when the foal (named Wonder) becomes sick. I find Ashleigh’s reaction to be very believable. Twelve year old me would also have stayed in the stables with a sick horse (I would have done it now too).

I loved the books message about hard work paying off but also the message that we can’t always do it by ourselves. I liked the fact that Ashleigh had help from her friends and family in caring for Wonder when she got sick.

All in all a good read for a rainy Friday evening. It made me remember my younger self. It also made me want to go for a ride.