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Kai
The third book in the Dream Riders series that interweaves the issues young people face together with the deep connection that can be formed between a horse and its rider.
Kai isn’t expecting much when he tags along with the Dream Riders on a trip to the Brumby Rescue Centre. He's not that interested in horses, but he's best friends with Frankie, he really likes Violet, and it's the last weekend before he goes back to the city. When they get to the Centre, though, Kai meets two brumbies who completely change the way he feels about horses, not to mention Frankie and Violet, and the place that he calls "home". He's been missing his old life in the city - especially his wise and funny older sister, Jindy - but now that he's met Jarrah the gentle giant, and Monty, the scrappy grey, nothing will ever be the same again.
Kai isn’t expecting much when he tags along with the Dream Riders on a trip to the Brumby Rescue Centre. He's not that interested in horses, but he's best friends with Frankie, he really likes Violet, and it's the last weekend before he goes back to the city. When they get to the Centre, though, Kai meets two brumbies who completely change the way he feels about horses, not to mention Frankie and Violet, and the place that he calls "home". He's been missing his old life in the city - especially his wise and funny older sister, Jindy - but now that he's met Jarrah the gentle giant, and Monty, the scrappy grey, nothing will ever be the same again.
240 pages, Paperback
Published December 2, 2020
1 person is currently reading
3 people want to read
About the author
Laura Bloom
16 books33 followersIt’s the people traditionally left out of the frame who interest Laura the most, as well as what happens after what would be the climax in many stories. A couple reuniting after the war, in IN THE MOOD; a woman who has changed her name and started a new life, only to find her old life catching up with her, in THE CLEANSKIN; what happens when you break up with the perfect person, in CHOOSING ZOE.
Laura’s novels have been shortlisted for the NSW Literary Awards, the ABC Fiction Prize and the Young Australian Readers’ Awards and published in France, the US and the UK.
Laura grew up in Sydney and graduated with a BA, Communications from the University of Technology, Sydney. She has worked in the areas of youth policy, social justice and health promotion, and has travelled widely, including living for spells in Germany, India, the UK, and as a toddler in New Guinea, which is where she began her love affair with the sub-tropics.
She now lives in a small town near Byron Bay on the East Coast of Australia with her chosen family, including her godson and her son who has autism. For such a word-based person it’s been an extraordinary journey to learn to love and communicate beyond words.
Laura’s novels have been shortlisted for the NSW Literary Awards, the ABC Fiction Prize and the Young Australian Readers’ Awards and published in France, the US and the UK.
Laura grew up in Sydney and graduated with a BA, Communications from the University of Technology, Sydney. She has worked in the areas of youth policy, social justice and health promotion, and has travelled widely, including living for spells in Germany, India, the UK, and as a toddler in New Guinea, which is where she began her love affair with the sub-tropics.
She now lives in a small town near Byron Bay on the East Coast of Australia with her chosen family, including her godson and her son who has autism. For such a word-based person it’s been an extraordinary journey to learn to love and communicate beyond words.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
March 13, 2024
3.75 stars - a pleasantly surprising read!
"Oh, it's nothing," he said, waving away my sympathetic look. "You're always missing someone. It shows you cared."
I don't recall why I chose to buy this book. It's not the kind of read that I would normally go for at all - looking back, it might have been for a yearly book bingo challenge surrounding horses. A 200-page middle grade book is something that I can blast through in a day. But I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of this book, and how entertaining it was!
The story revolves around Kai, and a brumby (a wild horse for you non-Aussies) named Monty, who he develops a connection with. The main plot of the story is pretty simple. It focuses on the relationship between Kai and Monty, how they work together and form a close bond with one another over the course of the story as they face life in the city. Fairly standard middle-grade horse novel.
However, it was everything that was happening in the background of this book that really drew me in! From the subplot with the bushfires, and all of the genuinely loveable and interesting side characters (my favourites were Ginger and Violet, as well as Jingy), this story had a really unique backdrop and a great cast of supporting characters.
I also loved the representation in this book! It didn't shy away from discussions of mental health, and it was nice to see a male lead for this type of novel! Middle grade horse books are usually geared towards girls, and therefore have female protagonists, so it was refreshing to see a male protagonist in this kind of story for once.
I didn't realise that this was part three of a full series when I began reading, so it took some getting into while I tried to differentiate the wide array people and places in this story, but I'm glad I stuck with it! The story's pace was very fast, perfect for a middle grade book. I didn't find myself getting bored at all, even though middle grade is a genre I don't venture into all that much anymore.
All in all, a fun and worthwhile read!
"Oh, it's nothing," he said, waving away my sympathetic look. "You're always missing someone. It shows you cared."
I don't recall why I chose to buy this book. It's not the kind of read that I would normally go for at all - looking back, it might have been for a yearly book bingo challenge surrounding horses. A 200-page middle grade book is something that I can blast through in a day. But I was pleasantly surprised by the depth of this book, and how entertaining it was!
The story revolves around Kai, and a brumby (a wild horse for you non-Aussies) named Monty, who he develops a connection with. The main plot of the story is pretty simple. It focuses on the relationship between Kai and Monty, how they work together and form a close bond with one another over the course of the story as they face life in the city. Fairly standard middle-grade horse novel.
However, it was everything that was happening in the background of this book that really drew me in! From the subplot with the bushfires, and all of the genuinely loveable and interesting side characters (my favourites were Ginger and Violet, as well as Jingy), this story had a really unique backdrop and a great cast of supporting characters.
I also loved the representation in this book! It didn't shy away from discussions of mental health, and it was nice to see a male lead for this type of novel! Middle grade horse books are usually geared towards girls, and therefore have female protagonists, so it was refreshing to see a male protagonist in this kind of story for once.
I didn't realise that this was part three of a full series when I began reading, so it took some getting into while I tried to differentiate the wide array people and places in this story, but I'm glad I stuck with it! The story's pace was very fast, perfect for a middle grade book. I didn't find myself getting bored at all, even though middle grade is a genre I don't venture into all that much anymore.
All in all, a fun and worthwhile read!
Displaying 1 of 1 review