White Cloud Station

by Georgia
(New Zealand)

The White Cloud Station books, written by Trudy Nicholson, follow the stories of Suzy, Lucy and Alexa, as well as their horses, originally wild - Ripple, Hope and Liquorice (Liqui).

Each character is very distinctive - Suzy, the gentle but firm rider with a serious horsehair allergy fits perfectly with Ripple, the curly-haired bay with a great jump and lots of heart. Lucy, though quiet, is very caring and works well with Hope, an easy-going chestnut pony who handles tremendous setbacks particularly well. Alexa, the loud one with a go-go-go riding style, originally can't work with fizzy Liquorice. She soon has to get to know her horse, and herself, to know where to go next.

Each book shapes the characters a little bit more - they learn as they grow up, like real riders would.

Like most books, you shouldn't trust everything you read. However, this series has a lot of real concepts and techniques, such as join-up (though Mike, at the start of the first book, works with 4 wild horses at once - don't try that at home).

All up, this is a very good book series. However, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone under 12 - some parts of some books may be too scary or upsetting. Also, parents of young children may not appreciate the common use of minor swears.