Lara and the Gray Mare (Hoofbeats Series: Lara #1) »

Nine-year-old Lara is the daughter of the r'-the leader of her cattle-raising clan. While she spends her days tending to the cattle, her heart lies with her beloved gray mare. When Lara goes to the highlands to set the cattle out to graze, she finds the mare in the process of a difficult birth. Lara vows to take care of the foal as a dying promise to the gray mare, and with the help of a childless milk-cow, she cares for the spindly-legged filly. But just when she is confident that the foal can survive, a rival clan captures them both, and throws Lara's life into turmoil. When the filly is eventually given to a titled baron in the castle town of Athenry, Lara, determined to stay with the horse no matter what, goes along. Together, she and her beloved horse face seemingly insurmountable challenges, but all along Lara keeps two things in mind. One day, she will manage to flee, and will set off in search of the family that she was taken from. And she will not leave without her silver mare.

Myrna Dee Marler - Alan Review

Kathleen Duey says, "Girls throughout history have grown up trusting horses with their friendship, their secrets, and even their lives. The Hoofbeats books are about that trust." Thus, her theme is tried and true, but she has staked out interesting new territory: 17th century Ireland. Nine-year-old Lara is almost old enough to marry in her rural, patriarchal society, but she works like a man, doing chores from making butter and cheese to spreading manure on the fields. The men are gone fighting in constant wars. Lara's life is work, some play, and love for a horse in a society where horses are reserved for warriors. Life is precarious, food is scanty, raiders are a constant threat, and girls are not supposed to have fun. This first book ends at a beginning, with Lara's capture by a raiding party along with the abduction of the foal she saved from death. Lara's voice is engaging and sympathetic if more mature than today's nine-year-old girl. 2005, Puffin Books, 140 pp., (paperback). Ages young adult.