She was trying as hard as she could, and she still wasn’t good enough.
Four months ago, before a neglected horse was left in Harper’s front yard, before she named him Phoenix and began to nurse him back to health, before she joined the riding team in her new town, before all that, Harper knew nothing about horses.
Now, she knows a lot more. And she knows that the best part of riding is jumping. Harper wants to be perfect at it in time for the team’s first competition. But to her surprise, the first event is called Quiz Rally. Just the word ‘quiz’ makes Harper uneasy—she’s failed every maths quiz lately.
A mistake with Katara, her friend’s horse, plunges Harper into self-doubt. Her anxiety grows, and so does tension with her teammates. How will she ever make it through maths class, through Quiz Rally, through all the competitions to come? How will she overcome her panic attacks and learn that it’s okay to be good enough, not perfect? The answers come when she takes a leap—just not the one she expects.
Read about Harper’s new adventures in this second book in the Ride On series.
Praise for Phoenix, Book 1 in the Ride On series:
‘A story of hope rising stubbornly above despair. Beautiful, authentic, and so moving.’ Carrie Seim, author of Horse Girl
‘Capturing the ache of growing up, Phoenix is as much about loyalty and determination as it is about horses.’ Karys McEwen, author of The Paperbark Tree Committee
‘Has all the charm, wit, and fierce intelligence readers have come to expect from Kimberly Brubaker Bradley.’ Holly Goldberg Sloan, author of Counting by 7s
‘A potent, heartrending story about surviving upheaval and discovering that some rescues work both ways.’ Kirkus [starred review]
