Kit meets Covington: Ride by Bobbi JG Weiss

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Candlewick Press, 2017. ISBN 9780763698355
(Age: 10-14) "When American teen Kit Bridges moves to England to attend an elite equestrian boarding school, neither she nor her new home will ever be quite the same.
Trying to move on from her mother's death and afraid of riding after a bad fall, plucky fourteen-year-old Kit Bridges doesn't quite know what to expect when her father takes a position at The Covington Academy, a prestigious boarding school in England. Things are looking up when Kit meets her cool, possibly secretly royal new roommate, Anya, and the boys of Covington, like Will, with their charming accents. But she hadn't anticipated such a strict headmistress as Lady Covington. Or the expectation that every student be a rider. Or the wild horse that she seems to have a strange and special bond with. While navigating new friendships, romances, and an alarmingly austere new environment, Kit needs to figure out whether she's ready to get back in the saddle. And at the end of the day, it's hard to tell who will be more changed by her arrival - The Covington Academy or Kit herself." (Publisher)
My sister was always the one who read Trixie Beldon and then my daughter later read The Saddle Club. I can see this book entertaining the next generation of horsey readers. It is based on a Nickelodeon TV show so some readers may be familiar with it. I did love the photos of the characters from the TV show and I did find myself flicking to check them out every now and then. It has an entertaining storyline and I love the old worldly insight into traditional English boarding schools of course with the added bonus of the odd drama thrown in. There are the typical characters of mean girl, popular girl, new girl on the block, popular boy etc etc. By the end of the book you do feel like they are your own friends. It is simple to read and I would recommend it for children aged 10 and up purely for the fact it does touch on young love in a very innocent way. A welcome addition to the horse collection in the library.
Kathryn Schumacher