THE TRUTH ABOUT HORSES, FRIENDS, & MY LIFE AS A COWARD

Sophie never wanted a pony, but her mother did; that’s how Really (short for Really Mean), Sweetie and Fancy ended up in their yard. While she continues to refuse to ride them, Sophie endures several hair-raising pony adventures on the ground. Finally overcoming her fear, she mounts, only to fall off in every way possible. Gibson’s debut should be knee-slappingly hilarious but isn’t—Sophie’s narrative voice is far too adult, which keeps every scene at arm’s length. Her school and summer friendships with Rachel and Melissa are told rather than shown, with no real conflict among the girls to keep the plot percolating. Instead of following a narrative arc, the novel ends up as a collection of episodic chapters titled in picaresque fashion (“In which I suffer...”). With its undemanding narrative style and Dibley’s occasional cartoon vignettes, this will entertain die-hard horse fans—that is, most ten- to 13-year-old girls. (Fiction. 8-13)