Presley and the Impossible Dream (Windy Creek Stables #1)

Eleven-year-old animal lover Presley Elder-Sharaf yearns to become a professional equestrian. But due to her mother’s strict “no horses” rule, Presley has never even been near one, much less learned to ride. When Presley tags along with her veterinarian stepfather to visit the nearby Windy Creek Stables, she seizes the opportunity to at last spend time around her beloved equines. At the stables, she befriends classmate Harper Lawrence, whom Presley always took for a snobby teacher’s pet. Now Presley must somehow convince her mother to let her take lessons, which Presley plans to cover the cost of by volunteering at the stables. In her middle grade debut, a series launch, Patterson (The Exalted) utilizes earnest third-person prose to showcase Presley’s heartfelt enthusiasm for learning and new experiences, simultaneously providing an approachable primer to the world of horseback riding and a cohesive introduction to future protagonists. The result is a charming story that embraces friendship, responsibility, and the pursuit of one’s dreams. Presley’s mother has “dark mahogany” skin, and her stepfather has a “light brown Egyptian complexion”; one of Harper’s mothers has a “pale complexion” and the other has “maple-brown skin.” Ages 8–12. Agent: Molly Ker Hawn, Bent Agency. (Feb.)