Brenna and the Horses of Lusayana by Lee Landes
5 stars
(Excerpt from Goodreads) Twelve year old Brenna MacLean wants answers. Why do they move every three months? Where is her father? How come, she can never make friends?
When she moves to the Cottage on the Cliff over a vicious stretch of coast in the north of Britain, the answers come thick and fast – and none of them are good.
To her new friend Louis, one answer is obvious. Brenna is cursed. Soon they are unravelling clues and rushing headlong into danger because the evil that lurks in the Deep has a way of reaching into the World.
The White Horses of Lusayana try to guide Brenna but Captain Croak and his servants, the Black Horses have some tricks to play.
Brenna is bold and impetuous. Luckily, Louis is there to steady her but in the end it will be Brenna who faces a terrifying choice. Because only an act of supreme daring can save her family.
Brenna is used to both moving every three months and no one remembering her, especially after a couple of minutes. We start the story with her trying to get a summer assignment from her most current teacher and him not knowing who she is and why she is in his class. It just gets worse from there when both Brenna and her mother are kicked out of the house that they are squatting in. They end up going back to her mother’s home but there is something strange going on.
Brenna finds a chest with strange markings and secret items in it. She also meets Louis, a rich boy living with his grandmother. They also make a friend, Cherry, in the local village. There is a lot of mystery around Brenna’s mother and the locals but no one is saying anything to Brenna because they gave their word to her mother. But when Brenna’s mother gets ill she is going to have to figure out what is going on.
I really liked this story. You can’t help but feel for Brenna, not knowing who her father is and living in such an unstable house. I was cheering for Brenna for trying to save her mom. I loved both the White and Black Horses. Also the twist about Louis, I really hope that there is going to be another story, possibly a series with Brenna and Louis.
This is a great mid grade story that any age will enjoy reading. Make sure to add it to your library.
I received this book from the Library Thing Early Readers Program in exchange for an honest review.
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