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    Sarah Maslin Nir’s The Flying Horse is inspiring MG novel

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    By Jessica on March 14, 2023 ages 8 & up, Middle Grade
    The Flying Horse THE FLYING HORSE, by Sarah Maslin Nir and Laylie Frazier, Cameron Kids, March 14, 2023, Hardcover, $16.99 (ages 8-12)

    Follow a girl and a horse as they each fight to reach their goals in The Flying Horse, a new middle-grade novel by Sarah Maslin Nir.

    Trendsetter is a horse destined to fly — in more ways than one. Sarah is a horse-loving seventh grader who has a secret and a fear of losing the one thing she loves most in the world. Separated by an ocean, a horse and a girl’s parallel struggles to be their best include lots of luck and grit, some stubbornness, and a few failures. It is only when they find each other that the two kindred spirits find themselves. Together they learn that what’s important in life isn’t greatness — it’s being great at being you. —Synopsis provided by Cameron Kids

    The Flying Horse is the first novel in Cameron Kids’ Once Upon a Horse series of fictional middle-grade novels inspired by real horses and the people who love them.

    Told from the alternating points of view of Trendy and Sarah, The Flying Horse examines hopes and dreams and the struggle to achieve them. Along the way, both horse and girl learn trust and how dreams evolve.

    Author Sarah Maslin Nir’s juxtaposition of horse and girl is lovely. Exploring the above themes through the duo allows readers to see similar situations from different perspectives. Complexity becomes clarity and simplicity becomes nuanced.

    Nir’s prose is straight-forward and comfortable. And Trendy and Sarah are compelling and full of life.

    The Flying Horse is a quick read that will ring true to most middle-readers but will be especially endearing to horse lovers. It’s a great start to what looks to be a promising new series.


    About the author:

    Sarah Maslin Nir is a staff reporter for The New York Times and the author of the new Once Upon a Horse series of children’s books, featuring true stories from across the equestrian world. Nir is also the author of the adult nonfiction book Horse Crazy: The Story of a Woman and a World in Love with an Animal published in 2020 by Simon and Schuster. She rides hunters competitively and is the mom of four horses and one pony. She can be found on Twitter @SarahMaslinNir and on Instagram: @onceuponahorse

     

    Copyright © 2023 Cracking the Cover. Unless otherwise noted, all books — digital and physical — have been provided by publishers in exchange for honest and unbiased reviews. All thoughts and opinions are those of the reviewer.

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    Jessica
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    Jessica Harrison is the reviewer behind Cracking the Cover. She loves books and worked as the in-house book critic at a daily newspaper, writing reviews and interviewing authors for two years. When the company cut back, she lost her position covering books, but that doesn't mean she stopped reading. If anything, the whole experience made her more passionate about reading and giving people the tools to make informed decisions in their own book choices. She has been featured on NetGalley's Blogger Spotlight and is on Kindleprenuer's Ultimate List of the Best Book Review Blogs. Contact her at jessica(at)crackingthecover(dot)com and follow Cracking the Cover on Bluesky, Instagram,  Facebook and Twitter (X) @crackingthecovr. You can also read scaled down reviews on Jessica's Goodreads review page. Jessica is also a reviewer on Amazon.

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