Growing up is a bumpy ride.

The first book in a fresh, uplifting series about a young girl learning to find joy again through the love of an unexpected horse—from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The War That Saved My Life and Fighting Words.

“Not just for horse lovers; it is for anyone navigating major life changes and grappling with learning to forgive.” —School Library Journal

Harper’s life has just exploded. Her parents are getting a divorce. And she suspects her best friend, Cat, may have known the reason for it long before she did. Now Harper and her mom are starting over in a cramped house, in a new town, where everything feels unfamiliar, including the riding barn next door. Harper’s never been around horses before. And no, she does not want to learn to ride—

Until a truck dumps a starved and neglected horse right in Harper’s yard.

Harper has no idea what to do with a live horse, let alone a nearly dead one. But one look at this horse’s huge eyes and skinny body, and something inside Harper unlocks. The horse is named Phoenix, she decides. And she will not give up on him. Neither, it turns out, will Phoenix give up on her. She doesn’t know it yet, but this is Harper’s first step—toward new friends, new challenges, new adventures. Toward riding.

From two-time Newbery Honor–winning author and bona fide horse lady Kimberly Brubaker Bradley comes a beautiful and authentic horse series, sure to transport any reader who’s ever felt lost and wished to be found.

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Dial Books (March 3, 2026)
• ISBN-13: 978-0593859865