First published 2005
Nine-year-old Lara tends cattle for her clan, but her heart belongs to her gray mare. In the highlands, she watches the mare struggle through a deadly birth. The mare dies, leaving behind a weak foal that Lara promises to protect. She nurses the spindly filly with milk from a cow, fighting to keep the young horse alive. Just as the foal grows strong, raiders from an enemy clan capture both Lara and her silver mare. The captors sell the filly to a baron who takes her to Athenry Castle. Lara refuses to abandon the horse she raised from birth. She follows her mare into captivity, facing unknown dangers in the castle town. Through every hardship, Lara holds onto two fierce hopes. She will escape this place and find her way back to her family. When she runs, her silver mare will run beside her.
Genres: family, animals, historical-fiction, adventure
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful
Tropes: escape, found-family
Setting: Athenry Castle, Highlands
Period: 19th-century
140 pages · Paperback · Puffin