In this horse-centered fantasy, Sonnia has one desire in life: to earn enough coppers to buy her beloved Ricochet, a fleet horse in the royal stables. Then Ricochet is reassigned to the king's racetrack, where she can't follow. Except, through a great stroke of luck, the new jockey at the track is her former carer, Deirdre, who pulls strings to get Sonnia a job as a stablehand. Being one of only a few female workers isn't easy, but Sonnia doesn't expect the most difficult challenge: all the stablehands take part in illicit midnight cross-country races for wealthy bettors, and she has to choose between sitting them out while struggling to support her family (let alone saving money to buy Ricochet) or risking the horses' soundness -- and the king's wrath -- if she participates. The factors that pressure Sonnia against her better judgment into joining the ride add up to a somewhat contrived motivation in this vaguely old-fashioned setting (kings, bandits), but what's completely authentic is the engine driving the story: Sonnia's unquenchable desire to own Ricochet, in the face of all obstacles. Horse-lovers will sympathize with Sonnia's ambition, her fierce protectiveness toward the horses, and her strong moral compass. Technical aspects of horse care are minutely and gratifyingly rendered. And not to spoil the ending, but when the drama comes to a rousing finish, fans of wish-fulfillment narratives will be smiling. Anita L. Burkam January/February 2022 p.109(c) Copyright 2022. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A stable girl rides in illegal races so she can buy the horse of her dreams. Sonnia would rather lead pony rides than attend school, and she lives for the afternoons when she's allowed to groom and exercise Ricochet, one of the messenger horses in the fictional, quasi-medieval kingdom of Mael Dunn. Though her family is poor, with nearly no hope of advancement, Sonnia is saving her coppers to someday buy him. When Ricochet is sent to the king's stables to be a companion for the high-strung racehorse Perihelion, Sonnia tags along and discovers that Deirdre, her childhood babysitter, is now a jockey there. Deirdre isn't as friendly as Sonnia remembers, but she arranges for Sonnia to be taken on as a stable hand, which Sonnia soon learns is a cover for the young people riding in the dangerous and illegal Night Rides. Though she assumes her new companions are wealthy, she soon discovers they're from desperate backgrounds like herself, in need of the money the purses provide. Sonnia is an engaging character with grit and determination, dreaming of the impossible while trying to survive in a hardscrabble world. The politics of the racecourse and the kingdom are confusing, however, and in the end, problems are solved externally in a way young readers may find disappointing. Most characters default to White. Engaging, true-to-life horse content will satisfy many. (Fiction. 8-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

In the loosely medieval kingdom of Mael Dunn, the royal horses are cared for by men and boys "from families who have been taking care of for generations." Though her brother lucked into a position at the royal stables, Sonnia, both a poor "lane kid" and a girl, has little hope of a future involving the animals. She nevertheless saves all her money to one day buy her favorite horse, Ricochet, and spends her afternoons grooming and riding him. When she learns that Ricochet will be relocated to the racetrack across town, she follows, and a chance encounter lands Sonnia a job as a racetrack stablehand. Sonnia adores working with the horses, and the job seems to pay well, but she's horrified to discover that the other stablehands compete for large sums in a dangerous and illegal nighttime race--a Night Ride that she reluctantly enters, intent on helping her parents and saving to buy Ricochet. Though the kingdom's class structure and the titular event's gambling particulars are left mostly undeveloped, Coats's (The Green Children of Woolpit) fast-paced tale with a largely default-white cast absorbs with meticulously observed horsey details and a tender interspecies relationship. Ages 8--12. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. (Oct.)