Nilah Magruder

Nora’s a likable young heroine, she has her flawed moments like we all do and there’s a solid, relatable arc here as her family moves and she has to adjust to new people and new surroundings, with some friendships blossoming along the way and some work to do on her horse jumping technique.

There’s a sprinkling of serious subject matter in this one, some racist moments at Nora’s new school as well as some bullying, that stuff isn’t magically resolved as it never is in real life show more either, but it’s handled pretty well here including a good talk between Nora and her dad and Nora stepping up for someone else, as I said, she’s a likable heroine.

Sticklers for realism might have some issues with the horse competition, but it plays out in a sweet way and overall this graphic novel is an entertaining read with adorable illustrations. show less

Nora is sad about leaving her friends, her school, and most of all, her barn when her family moves to a rural area. Nora and her horse Hay Fever's new barn is called Creaky Acres; Susan, the owner/trainer, comes highly recommended by Nora's old trainer, but she doesn't believe in horse shows, and the place is falling apart. Nora comes in with an attitude and gets off on the wrong foot with the other riders and Susan's son Hank, who fixes things around the barn. But she figures out a way to show more make repairs, and she helps them all prepare for an event together. At the event, Nora gets to see her trainer and friends from her old barn, and integrate her two worlds.

"I miss it. I miss knowing how everything works. Everything's so weird here. I feel like I'm always doing something wrong. Either I am, or everyone else is. Ugh, this place. I miss...I miss having friends. I miss my friends. I miss them so much." (Nora to Hay Fever; Hank overhears, p. 133) show less

Cute. Nora has a clear character arc and learns to give others/ a new situation a chance. Nora's family is affluent, so going from the high-class riding barn to a more rustic one is drastic. Being the new and only Black kid at a new school doesn't help either.

This doesn't delve into what it's like to be a Black "horse girl," so this aspect felt like a major missed opportunity. It's not a common hobby for most girls like her, so it would have been a unique perspective. Like, how did the kids show more at Nora's old school react to that? How did she get involved with it?

I wonder why letter writing replaced texting in this book. It's set in modern times, and I understand it helped guide the narrative, but Nora is shown to have a cellphone, so it seemed odd.

Overall, I liked the friendship aspect, and that it didn't fall into Nora always having to defend others without it being reciprocated back. Also, the old friends were decent and sweet. The artwork is precious, and I love Nora's little nose so much. show less

The richly colored art steals the show here. The story is simple enough, but has hints of an intriguing world to be explored and an epic tale to be told.

It seems this is just a prologue or introduction to a longer work being produced as a webcomic, and I wish the publisher had set expectations by labeling this as a first book or volume in a series. I feel tricked when a book just ends with lots of stuff dangling, and I have to investigate to find that I don't have the full story yet.