Jewel's Magic (Bella Sara Series #3) »

Journey to the world of magical horses . . .

Meet the graceful and wise mare Jewel as she guides a young girl on a dangerous quest to find an ancient treasure.

Children's Literature

"Bella Sara" is a trading card series, a website and now a book series. In Book 3, eleven-year-old Shine Anders is left in the care of her grandmother after her father dies and her mother goes in search of legendary jewels. Shine is embarrassed that her family has been reduced to being servants for the Marshalls, whose obnoxious son Jeremiah has stolen her eyeless doll Gertrude. Shine is helped by a magical bay mare named Jewel, who was carved in stone but comes to life bedecked in jewels. With the mare's help, Shine recovers Gertrude and searches for her mother and the jewels of Sigga, a Valkyrie who was banished for falling in love with a mortal man. Jewel's dressage movements reveal an orchid, which in turn shows the way to the vault of the hidden treasure. Along the way, girl and horse must fight rock creatures and growing crystals, barely escaping with their lives. Jewel and Shine end up in a deep cave, where they find Shine's mother frozen alongside many different dolls. Jewel, using her dressage movements, awakens the dolls and Shine's mother by encouraging a drummer doll to drum faster and faster. It turns out that Gertrude is the daughter of the doll king and queen; not only that, she is the key to the treasure vault. Shine makes new eyes for Gertrude from an emerald and a sapphire, and everyone lives happily ever after. There is a lot of magic in the story, as well as some horsey stuff. Girls who thrive on fantasy and horses will enjoy it, but I do wish the author was a little more careful with her grammar. Reviewer: Sarah Maury Swan