Centaur Rising

August 15, 2014
Fantasy master Yolen here offers a tale of a half-foal, half-boy. Not quite a year after the appearance of a mysterious white light, an old pony at a boarding stable gives birth to a baby centaur. With only 13-year-old Arianne, her mother, a friendly veterinarian, the stable manager and Arianne's disabled, 6-year-old brother, Robbie, on site, they hatch a plan to keep the baby out of public view. Soon, however, the whole world knows, drawing even Arianne's estranged rock-star father, who comes to cash in. Unfortunately, this intriguing premise doesn't lead to a successful novel. The characters all feel like stereotypes, especially the father and chirpy Robbie, and the humans seem to accept an actual live centaur extraordinarily readily. One rule of adding fantasy elements to a story set in an otherwise real world is that the real-world details must ring true, and that is ultimately the greatest flaw here: Yolen doesn't get the horse details right. Whether it's incorrect vocabulary or flubbing the usual routine of a boarding stable, Yolen's real horses are never real enough for her fantasy centaur to come to life. The story is set in 1965, apparently as an excuse for Robbie's thalidomide-induced birth defects, but the setting is mostly just shown through mentions of contemporary television shows; the veterinarian's service in Vietnam seems impossible, given the timeline.This book stumbles right out of the gate. (Fantasy. 8-12)

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July 1, 2014

Gr 4-6-Thirteen-year-old Arianne Martins has a secret. It's not that her "famous enough" rock musician father abandoned the family seven years ago. It's not that her homeschooled brother Robbie uses a wheel chair and has malformed limbs due their mother's thalidomide use during pregnancy. It's not that Martha, the irascible barn manager at Ari's family-run stable communicates with as many snorts and whinnies as the horses do. Ari's secret is magic: the farm's newest foal is a centaur! Ari, Robbie, mom Hannah, Martha and the trusted veterinarian promptly post a "Quarantine" sign, while they contemplate what to do. They name the pony boy Chiron, and since the centaur matures at the rate of about a year for every day, it isn't long before "Kai" can say his own name, read books, and communicate in English as well as in horse. At the heart of the story is the idea of protecting those we love. Ari protects Robbie, though she is sometimes a little jealous of the extra attention he requires. Hannah protects her children from their unkind dad. Martha protects the horses, and veterinarian Dr. Herks is there for Hannah. Everyone protects Kai. The 1965 setting means newspaper photographers with flash bulb cameras eventually spill the secret, causing distress at the farm, though things smooth out at the end. A gentle fantasy for tweens.-Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from July 1, 2014
Grades 3-6 *Starred Review* In 1965, 11 months after Arianne witnesses an unusual Perseid meteor shower over her family's ranch, Agora the pony gives birth to a centaur and life completely changes. As soon as he is on his hooves, the baby centaur, named Kai, embraces and bonds with another liminal being: Ari's six-year-old brother, Robbie, a thalidomide child. Kai's birth, however, brings additional concerns for their mother, Hannah. How do they keep Kai a secret not just from the world but from their boarders and ridersespecially Mrs. Angotti, with her big mouth and unruly children? How do they allow him to run as a foal but also develop as a child? And most worrisome, what will happen when he is no longer a secret? When Robbie is accidentally knocked out of his wheelchair, Kai picks him up and places him on his back, inspiring Hannah to create Kai's Kids, a horse-therapy program. Yolen offers something wholly uplifting here: shooting stars, a child's hug, and the nuzzle of a horse's nose. Myth? Miracle? Magic? Yes, it's all that, but also simply a beautifully written story of love and acceptance with a large helping of horse sense. Likely to become not only a popular book but perhaps one that stands the test of time.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)