Running Wild

Jinny #12

by Patricia Leitch

So much time has passed since Jinny found Shantih wandering the moors, but this has done nothing to calm the wild nature of the horse - or her teenage rider. The final story in the Jinny series finds them once again in rivalry with the awful, perfect Clare on a long-distance race, and in a far more troubling race against time when the Wilton museum faces destruction. Will Jinny and Shantih be able to save the mural of the dancing horses?

Genres: Horses, Childrens

Paperback

First published October 13, 1988

About the author

Patricia Leitch (July 13, 1933 - July 28, 2015) was a Scottish writer, best known for her series of children's books about a girl named Jinny Manders and her wild, traumatized Arabian horse Shantih, set in the Scottish Highlands.
The 12 books in the Jinny series were published between 1976 - 1988 by Armada. They are currently in reprint by Catnip Publishers.
Two more of her novels, Dream of Fair Horses (1975) and The Horse from Black Loch (1963) have been republished by Jane Badger Books.
Leitch has also written under the pseudonym Jane Eliot.

Reviews

[Kerri · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final Jinny book! It took me a while to find a copy of this, and it was wonderful to finally finish reading this series. Jinny is one of my favourite characters ever written, but it's also the books as a whole that capture something really special, a kind of wild magic wrapped up in the Scottish moors and spirits of the past. Having learned from the interview that I've linked below that this book wasn't intended to be the end of Jinny's adventures, it's amazing how in many ways it provides a satisfying conclusion to the story. Although I could have happily read a dozen more of these books, this does feel like a nice place to leave it. Jinny and Shantih still roaming the moors, having been through so much, changed in mostly positive ways, still young with so much still before them. Part of me would love to have followed Jinny into adulthood, but I also don't mind leaving her behind here. I would have been completely satisfied with this ending except, knowing that it wasn't Patricia Leitch's choice to end it here, I can't help but wonder what might have been.

I read a lot of this kind of book, and I think Patricia Leitch's are amongst the best. I still have more books by her to find and read, which is a happy thing to look forward, but to anyone interested in stories of a girl and her horse, I highly recommend the Jinny books. I think they are still in print, as Jinny at Finmory, though I got all mine secondhand at reasonable prices. Some horse books can be pricey, but Jinny remains reasonable.

I read a few Jinny books when I was a kid, and I loved them, but it wasn't until I was an adult that I reread the ones I had and began to search in earnest for the ones I didn't. It took a couple of years of scouring secondhand bookshops and TradeMe listings, but I finally have all twelve, which I will reread fairly soon.

"Patricia Leitch - an interview" https://www.janebadgerbooks-oldsite.c...

http://catnipbooks.blogspot.com/2011/...

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite a low-key ending to the Jinny series, with the girl looking for a new challenge and deciding to compete in a long distance ride. She did have a couple of nice moments with Mrs Tuke (who supported her against Clare Burnley), which were good to see. One thing I didn't like was where Jinny was fine with Clare as soon as she realised the other girl cared about her horse after a fall, because when you think over everything that Clare and her family have done to Jinny, you'd think she could never let that pass. There doesn't seem masses of resolution to the story, but I guess that is how life is - sometimes you leave the story without ever knowing the true ending.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final and the 12th book in the Jinny series about Jinny Manders,her beloved Arab Shantih and her family..this book concludes the series beautifully maintaining the themes of all books with Jinny finally in tune with the mysticism and wildness surrounding her and Shantih.Excellent even to go back and reread as an adult!

[Vintagebooklvr · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the relationship between Shantih and Jinny. There can be a very special bond between animals and humans.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book completes the Jinny series nicely and the final lines tie the whole "Shantih/Red Horse/Keziah/The Walker" etc mystery up nicely. I did get a bit bored in the middle, I think whenever Jinny gets something in her head her obsessiveness gets a bit old quite quickly, but even so, a nice ending to the series!

[Debbie Tink · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked the story Jinny dus get in a flap, but can't help liking her.