Racing Manhattan

In a cheering and relatable story of adversity overcome, an outcast teen coaxes a defiant Thoroughbred back into the thrill of competition.

Alone in the world, Jay Barton is a teenage misfit with nothing much going for her besides an extraordinary talent for understanding racehorses and riding them like a pro. When, in a desperate attempt to escape her shifty, opportunistic uncle, she leaves home to work in a racing stable, Jay forms a bond with a beautiful gray mare named Manhattan — brilliant, misunderstood, dangerous, and heading for racing's scrap heap. Recognizing a fellow misfit, Jay fights to give Manhattan one last opportunity to show that she's the champion she was born to be. Together they face a world of prejudice and cruelty, fighting back the only way they know how — by becoming the best.

Terence Blacker is the author of The Twyning and other novels for young adults. Before he became a writer, he rode as an amateur steeplechase jockey. He lives in the U.K.