Ride On by Faith Erin Hicks

The Hook: 

A Graphic Novel! Victoria loves horses!  But to keep training at Waverly Stables, she must earn money cleaning stables several hours a day.  Plus, there is a lot of pressure to be the BEST rider in competitions.  And although Victoria loves horses she is not that much into competitions.  She decides to quit Waverly Stables and go to a lesser known, smaller stable called Edgebrook.  Some of her friends at Waverly are mad at her for her decision. 

At Edgebrook, she meets Norrie who is very suspicious of her.  According to Norri, Waverly Stables is their archenemy and Victoria who came from Waverly must be a spy!  At first, Victoria isn’t all that interested in making friends with anyone at the stables.  Afterall, look how her friends treated her at Waverly—they are not even speaking to her now.  Who needs friends when she has horses to keep her company? 

But little by little Victoria realizes she does need friends.  And the kids at Edgebrook are awesome and supportive of HER not just her horse skills. 

For a terrific book about friendship, you gotta read the graphic novel Ride On!  This book is in our library.  It is also in Sora as an ebook.  It is 1 AR point. 

My Thoughts (Careful! There May Be Spoilers): 

There was a good graphic novel that I gave 4.2 stars.  I think students can connect with Victoria as she has trouble with friends.  There are miscommunications and after talking with her old friends at Waverly she is better able to understand their point of view.  While their talk did not bring them closer together necessarily, they have a better grasp of each other’s situation.  This can be true in life, and I like how the story was thoughtful of differences of opinions and perspectives. 

The illustrations of everyone, especially Norrie, are fantastic.  Norrie is an over-the-top, dramatic friend who makes life fun—we all know someone like this—so it makes it extra enjoyable to see her in the pages of this book. 

Recommendations: 

I would recommend this to everyone in 4th-8th grades.  Although this is a book about horses, I think all will be able to relate to Victoria and friendship troubles.