Part a family’s story of strength, courage and resilience and part magical-realism/fantasy/fable, Honey and the Valley of the Horses by @wendy_orr_author, is sweet and gentle but packs so much into it. It would make an absolutely wonderful class text or a story to share with a child during bedtime snuggles.
This middle grade novel is a definite recommend from me.

So many people I know are struggling with ‘life after the pandemic’ and I’ve read that one of Wendy Orr’s motivations for writing this book was the children who were born or quite young during the pandemic and were separated from family and the ‘real’ world for so long and how they would cope when the world ‘reopened’. This book is a lovely intro into discussions around the importance of nature, self-sufficiency and the healing power of animals. Told in the third person, except for excerpts from messages sent to the family while they are ‘away’, the novel is an accessible and highly engaging story. If you love horses you’ll be even more delighted.

Publisher’s @allenandunwin synopsis: When Honey was four and her brother Rumi was a tiny baby, her family loaded up their converted ice-cream-van-camper and drove away from all they knew, as an illness swept the sad wide world. High in the mountains, they crossed a bridge to follow a mysterious herd of enchanted horses into a sheltered valley. The bridge and the track disappeared behind them - and now they are trapped in paradise.

In the valley of horses, Honey's family becomes self-sufficient, fishing, growing vegetables and using solar power. But no messages from the outside world are ever received. When her father falls desperately ill, Honey is sure there must still be people in the big wide world who can help. She is determined to draw on her resourcefulness, self-belief and courage, but will this be enough to find a way out of the valley?”

#loveozmg #middlegradefiction

Honey and The Valley of Horses by Wendy Orr is an absolutely delightful story.

Honey is four and her brother baby brother, Rumi leave with their family in a converted ice-cream-van-camper to escape from an illness that is sweeping across the world. They find themselves crossing a bridge and follow a track into a sheltered valley where a herd of mysterious horses live. The bridge disappears and they are trapped in paradise but become self-sufficient but totally isolated. Seven years later Honey’s father becomes gravely ill and she sets off to find the outside world and save her father.

Vivid descriptions of the valley, mountain and river bring the area alive. The survival strategies that the family employ are admirable as they manage the seasons by moving the van between winter and summer locations and are able feed and clothe themselves throughout the seven year period. Back to basics and using what you have and adapting.

Honey has no recollection of the world they came from but in order to try and save her father she ventures off, riding bareback on a horse called Moongold. In the meantime, Rumi with the horse called Lightening leads the rest of the family, in the van, to try and follow Honey. Compared with the rest of the story this part is very exciting and adventurous!

A marvellous story filled with warmth and adventure which should certainly be enjoyed by young people.


This review is based on a complimentary copy from Allen & Unwin via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

#HoneyandtheValleyofHorses #NetGalley