Gift Horse

“I won’t make you call the vet. But I will make you face reality. That horse is almost guaranteed to die, no matter what we do.” “No!” My chest hurt as if I’d been kicked in the windpipe. Dad went on like he didn’t hear me. “And the longer you hang on to it – her the more pain you’re going to cause yourself and others.”

Book: Gift Horse (Winnie the Horse Gentler #6) by Dandi Daley Mackall, Tyndale House Publishers

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Target Audience: Girls 12-16

Subjects: Relationships with parents and siblings, loss of a loved one

Summary: Christmas isn’t fun for Winnie. It hasn’t been since her mom died a few years ago, but it’s even worse this year. Someone gave her a gift that is a huge reminder of the pain of loss – a horse that is dying – a pregnant horse that is dying, that is likely too weak to carry and deliver the foal. The pain of loss is fresh in Winnie’s mind throughout this story.

Notes: This sad story gives a chance to share the Gospel. A friend of Winnie’s is near and helping work with the horse and Winnie uses the horse situation to illustrate what Jesus did for us on the cross. This is the 6^th book in the Winnie the Horse Gentler series, a series of books about a young, motherless girl, who trains horses and struggles to get along as well with people as she does with horses.

Recommendation Scale: 5/5

Reviewer: J:-)mi

2 Corinthians 9:15 - Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!