Books of the Year 2014
This round
up of the year’s books is drawn from books I’ve read and reviewed this year.
Not all of them were actually published in 2014: sometimes it takes me a while
to get round to things. One thing that’s really noticeable is that
nine out of the eighteen books that really did it for me this year were
self-published. New equestrian publisher Forelock also makes an appearance,
with the excellent Beside Me by
Carolyn Henderson and K M Peyton’s All
That Glitters, and therefore do better than most of the established
publishers. Usborne, Nosy Crow, Orion and Faber wave the flag for conventional
publishing, with Fidra championing reprints.
My book of
the year (in a very strong field) is the outstanding novella by Katharina
Marcus: Boys Don’t Ride.
Adult reads
KDP £2.99
This is a witty, well drawn romance with thoroughly believable characters and plenty of excellent horse content. If romances are your thing, you will absolutely love this. I did.
This is a witty, well drawn romance with thoroughly believable characters and plenty of excellent horse content. If romances are your thing, you will absolutely love this. I did.
Aspen Valley
Books £7.57, Kindle £2.40
Another for
the romance fan – a rollicking read with a detailed and believable racing
background, with a bit of mystery thrown in.
Sadly no
longer in print.
This is an
account (partly fictionalised) of K M Peyton’s childhood growing up in the
London suburbs during World War II. It’s a fascinating account of a girl
growing up during wartime, and for whom it is therefore normal to be
perpetually cold, to hear air raid sirens on a daily basis, and to experience
the petrifying wait for the cut out of the doodlebug
YA
Create
Space £3.50, Free to
download from Good Reads
This is a
novella (or a very long short story). The story of Tull and Liberty, school
misfits who share a love of the horse, ended up being my book of the year. I
absolutely loved this. There are several writers out there who are (thoroughly
undeservedly in my opinion) touted as the next K M Peyton, but Katharina Marcus
stands an excellent chance of being just that.
Forelock Books £9.50
The YA field
did really well this year, with Carolyn Henderson’s wonderful Beside Me, which was just pipped by Boys
Don’t Ride to my book of the year. Carolyn Henderson delivers horsey expertise
with a brilliantly realised world which recognises that life goes on beyond the
stable door.
Oolichan
Press £3.10 - £7.28, Kindle £3.58 - £5.51
There are
some characters who get under your skin, and Susan Ketchen’s heroine Sylvia is funny,
observant, and absolutely devoid of self pity about her condition, Turner’s
Syndrome.
Create Space £9.84, Kindle £2.97
Natalie
Kenner Reinert’s heroine also gets under your skin, but often because she’s so
plain unlikeable. Despite that, Reinert creates a sympathy for her character
that draws you in to the world of someone obsessed.
Kindle £1.88
Another fine read. It’s the story of a family struggling
to make their horse business pay, and the awful choices they’re faced with as a
result. I absolutely loved Dare to Dream. My only regret is that pressure of work meant it was sitting on my ereader for weeks before I had time to read it. I finished it in tears. It's moving, wrenching, and funny.
Children’s
Lost Pony - free at time of writing. Against All Hope, Kindle £1.99
Amanda Wills
has burst on to the scene with the first two books in her Riverdale Pony series,
excellent, character-driven books about Poppy McKeever and the pony she loves.
Forelock Books £9.26
A welcome
return to form from K M Peyton, with a girl-gets-pony story enlivened by side
swipes on the entertainment value of dressage when compared to that of two
hairy ponies who look as if they’ve come off the side of the road.
Orion £5.99,
Kindle £2.99
The last
book in the Joe series has Victoria Eveleigh’s usual strong sense of community
and strength of characterisation. It’s difficult to write a good pony, but it’s
something at which Victoria Eveleigh is particularly good. Joe’s new pony
Fortune, on whom he’s aiming at the Prince Philip Cup, emerges as a real pony,
not something who's the vehicle of Joe's wants and desires.
Pageworks
Press £5.71, Kindle £1.81
Turning on a
Dime is a departure for Maggie Dana: a time slip story switching between the
present day and Civil War America. It’s my favourite historical of the year.
After the Storm is another excellent addition to the Kate and Holly series.
Nosy Crow
£5.99, Kindle £3.59
This is a
series which is getting stronger as it goes. The Palomino Pony Rides Out sees Georgia wrestling with competing
in the Working Hunter Team Championships, her friendship struggles, and her mare Lily’s imminent foal.
Young Readers
Usborne
£4.99, Kindle £1.71
This is a
brilliant read for the younger pony lover, and if you read it to your
child, you are in for a treat too. Diana Kimpton is a fine and subtle writer,
with the gift of being able to write a story that appeals both to the child and
adult reader.
Reprints
Faber £6.39,
Kindle £3.49
Set in
India, with rebellious racehorses and nuns. If you want a story of a race horse
who overcomes horrible early traumas, you will find it in this book, but that's not the heart of it. This is a story of change: a great mishmash of colour,
passion and belief.
Ruby
Ferguson: Jill Enjoys Her Ponies & Jill’s Riding Club
Fidra £7.99
There was no way I could leave Jill out of this review. Fidra are flying ahead
with their reprints of the fine Jill books, bringing what are probably the best loved pony books of all time to a new audience.
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Comments
Wow! One part of me wishes it was longer, the other thinks the author finished with the perfect situation. I hope she writes more pony books!