Dream Riders: Frankie
Without a saddle or bridle, all that’s left is the truth. Dream Riders is an exciting new middle-grade series about horses, friendship and being true to yourself.
Frankie’s dream is more like a nightmare when her new horse turns out to be Zen – a shaggy, disobedient clown of a pony, who will totally wreck her chances of fitting in at Pony Club in her new town. Zen is everything Frankie doesn’t want – until the magnetic horse whisperer Shannon shows her just what Zen could be if ridden freely. Natural horsemanship opens up a whole new way of riding and a whole new world of connection between Zen and Frankie. But Frankie’s dad is getting more depressed after her parents’ divorce, star rider and star mean girl Violet has it in for Frankie, and her best friend Kai is keeping a secret. Then Shannon announces she’s closing down her riding centre. Frankie’s got an idea that could save it … but can she and Zen rise to the challenge?
Resources
Creators
Laura Bloom grew up in Sydney, reading constantly and dreaming of becoming a writer. Now she lives in a small country town with her family and lots of animals, writing novels for children and adults. Her books have been short-listed for awards and sold in many countries. Her latest novel for young readers, Mika and Max – about a girl who meets a boy who makes her see everything differently – is also published by Walker.
Jesse Blackadder was a horse-mad city kid who wanted to be a vet. She was that girl who postered her bedroom with horses and crowded her dressing table with prancing plastic ponies. She finally became a horse owner when she moved to the country as an adult. Jesse is the winner of several literary awards and has published novels for adults and children, including Paruku The Desert Brumby, based on the true story of a group of wild Australian brumbies that became endurance racehorses in Dubai.
Reviews
I’m very happy that I can now add ‘Dream Riders’ to my list of horse books for those readers who love nothing more than to escape into horseworld, whether they are riders or not. ‘Dream Riders: Frankie’ has wide appeal beyond those who enjoy horse books – in fact the horse themes are more a vehicle for looking at contemporary issues facing tweens and teens. This first novel touches on same sex relationships and family breakdown, overuse/addiction to technology and subtle bullying. Highly recommended for readers from 10+.
Children's Books Daily
Laura Bloom and Jesse Blackadder’s Frankie explores current issues from family breakdowns, same sex couples, peer pressure, addiction to technology and bullying. A great novel for readers from ten who enjoy animal stories and teenage life with real and relatable characters.
ReadPlus
This is an engaging read, which has enough in the way of subplots and character development to appeal to more than horse enthusiasts… Recommended, especially for horse lovers.
CBCA: Reading Time
I think these will be great reads for fans of The Saddle Club books, and I love that the Australian setting comes through in the storytelling. To be completely honest, I felt a bit sad when I got to the end of this one because I wanted more
Bookish Bron
