The Secret Horses of Briar Hill

I freaking cried the first time I read this. And I rarely cry. Seriously.

This is a good book, but I am not a child, whom it is Definitely Meant For.

Emmaline lives in a castle-turned hospital for children displaced by WWII in the UK, a gray place where many come to stay, but most never leave. Emmaline can see beautiful winged horses in the castle's many mirrors and believes there is a secret land just on the other side of these reflective surfaces. Emmaline's world collides with the the land of the horses when she finds a beautiful white horse with a damaged wing in the castle's garden. She also finds a note from the Horse Lord begging her to find special objects to help protect Foxfire from the sinister Black Horse who has also crossed over into Emmaline's world. A lyrically masterful novel for mid-grade readers, I adored how you never quite found out if the horses were an object of Emmaline's fantasies, spurred by her own illness that slowly becomes more apparent to the reader as the pages go on, or if they were indeed real. The ending is also ambiguous enough that readers can draw their own conclusions on the fate of Foxfire and Emmaline. Both hauntingly sad and beautiful, this is a perfect book for both adults and more mature mid-grade readers, akin to The Secret Garden or The Little Princess.

Oh, this book. I borrowed this on a whim from the library, and I'm so very glad that I did. Megan Shepard has woven a beautiful tale in The Secret Horses of Briar Hill. One that manages to mix fantasy and reality in a way that is both heartbreaking and sweet. I fell in love with Emmaline from page one, and I honestly wish that her story had gone on a little longer. The writing in this book felt so familiar. Like an old friend, that I hadn't picked up in a while. I'd most easily compare this to something like The Secret Garden, with its rambling estate and precocious young characters. There was just enough magic patchworked into this story as well, with Emmaline's winged horses taking center stage. Which was perfection, to be honest. While there are definitely sad undertones, since this takes place during wartime, the magic here helps keep things on an even keel. I don't know if Middle Grade readers will get the layers here, but even with just the winged horses it's an excellent story. As for the audiobook, I an attest that Fiona Hardingham is the perfect narrator for Emmaline's story. She brings the otherwordly place on the other side of the mirror, with its winged inhabitants, to life. I honestly think it gave me an even better experience than I could have hoped for. If you have an older MG reader, who is in love with simple magic, this is a book that you need to put in their hands. It was a gorgeous read.