The Secret Horses of Briar Hill

August 29, 2016
Shepherd (The Cage) blends the historical with the fantastical in her deeply moving first middle grade novel, set during WWII. Twelve-year-old narrator Emmaline is convalescing in a hospital in the British countryside for children with “stillwaters,” the girl’s term for tuberculosis. Emmaline chafes at the requirement to remain cloistered indoors, and instead sneaks off to the sundial garden on the estate’s grounds. Emmaline believes she sees winged horses in the hospital’s mirrors, and when a horse with a broken wing appears in the sundial garden, having apparently crossed over from the mirror world, Emmaline resolves to protect her from a malevolent black horse. Shepherd’s strong supporting cast includes a benevolent doctor, a one-armed handyman named Thomas, a kind older girl named Anna, and a boisterous group of boys, as well as the nuns who tend to them. Shepherd leaves the story’s fantasy elements tantalizingly open-ended—it’s for readers to decide whether the winged horses Emmaline sees and the “Horse Lord” she corresponds with are products of her rich imagination—yet the magic in the relationships she builds, even the tragic ones, is undeniable. Ages 10–up. Author’s agent: Josh Adams, Adams Literary.