Racing Manhattan

March 1, 2018
A troubled British teen bonds with a troubled racehorse.Jay Barton, almost 16, has been living with her wheeler-dealer uncle since her mother died when Jay was 8. She has never known her father. Her uncle lives in the country, with ponies Jay loves to ride and a daughter Jay is close to, but in his house, Jay is Cinderella before the ball--a charity case, an outsider. Worse, Jay's skill riding racing ponies causes her uncle to drag her into a seamy underworld, where her refusal to lose a race she could win puts her in danger. At a low-level racing stable in Newmarket, she develops a relationship with a well-bred but difficult mare named Manhattan. Eventually--of course, readers know this already--she and Manhattan rise to greatness, although escaping her uncle may not go so smoothly. The story is told through Jay's first-person narration. Her stubborn persistence and the realistic details of life in a racing barn take this a notch above most horse books. Still, a string of coincidences and a few hokey plot elements--Jay's search for her father and the benevolent Saudi prince who becomes Jay's patron chief among them--bring the ending down. The book adheres to the white default.Starts well out of the gate and has some staying power--but fades a bit over the final furlong. (Fiction. 12-16)

COPYRIGHT(2018) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

April 1, 2018
Grades 7-10 Strong-minded 16-year-old Jay Barton struggles daily to deal with the harsh circumstances of her life: being left alone at an early age, living with family who don't accept her, and not being taken seriously. Her only consolation is riding horses, something at which she proves to be proficient. Jay finds a summer job at a racing stable, where she discovers Manhattan, a horse much like Jay in that no one wants her. Jay, however, sees Manhattan's potential and fights to save her. Blacker succeeds at creating a fun, intriguing story of a girl fighting the odds stacked against her. Reminiscent of Enid Bagnold's National Velvet, Blacker's novel features a young girl determined to race horses, win, and save a horse's life. Bold Jay will be a favorite with readers, who are sure to cheer her on. Details of horses and racing abound in Blacker's novel, which will help readers visualize themselves on the racetrack with Jay. This fresh read is exciting, distinctive, and will entice many young readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2019
Rebellious, horse-crazy British teen Jay escapes the unloving, shady relatives who've been raising her just to cash in on her horseracing skill. Jay's empathic way with the equine allows her to break into the misogynistic racing world, but not without added complications involving criminal gambling and animal abuse. Though a bit soap operaish, this novel offers plenty to keep the attention of horse-loving teens.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)