• Age: 8 to 12
• Grade: 5

The third book in the Saddle Island series. From the author of the widely successful Mustang Mountain series comes a third adventure in the new and exciting Saddle Island series. Set on the wild and windswept landscape of Nova Scotia's eastern shore, Race to the Rescue finds heroine Kelsie MacKay receiving an urgent phone call. She is asked to rescue a racehorse named Gem, a beautiful three-year-old filly. Kelsie and her brother Andy have started school in Dark Cove, and -- if they can get their dad to like the place or can find him a job -- it looks like they might actually get to live in Nova Scotia permanently. Meanwhile, there's a stranger lurking on Saddle Island, someone who visits the horses when nobody else is around. He seems to take a special interest in Gem. And there are weird lights out at sea on a dark night. What's going on? Kelsie and Andy find out -- and solve the mystery.

As a child Sharon Siamon had a passion for three things: horses, mountains, and books. Growing up in Southern Ontario with a family too busy for horses, Siamon pursued her dreams through books and make-believe. She says: “I never ran as a kid, I galloped, trotted, or cantered everywhere.” As an adult, she has spent her time pursuing an adventurous lifestyle, and sharing it in her writing.

The inspiration for her trilogy, Mustang Mountain came while participating in a five-day trail ride near Red Deer, Alberta. There she sat around an open fire at night listening to the wranglers talk. She was also inspired by conversations with young women who grew up on ranches.

Sharon Siamon’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Education from Nipissing University. Siamon is now one of Canada’s most prolific writers of fiction for young readers. She has published eleven novels in Canada, two series in England, and a series in Norway. Her Sleepover Series and five books she wrote in the Stage School series under the pseudonym Geena Dare are popular across Canada and Northern Europe.

A mother of three grown up daughters, Siamon now enjoys writing in the early morning hours and then spending the rest of the day outdoors. She and her husband Jeff currently reside in Toronto with their dog, Brio.

Sharon Siamon's profile page

Race to the Rescue

In this third and final book of the Saddle Island series, thirteen-year-old Kelsie, Nova Scotia’s young horse rescuer, suspiciously acquires a skittish young thoroughbred mare named Diamond. After finding out Diamond may be pregnant, Kelsie and her friend Jen arrange to transport the mare to Saddle Island where Kelsie’s other four horses are being kept for the summer. While taking Diamond across the cove, the waves pick up, and Diamond is tossed overboard. A strange man appears in a kayak, saves Diamond, then disappears. He later reappears at the barn where Jen is settling the horses. Jen. She accompanies him to his camp to get warm where she discovers the horrifying truth of his mission— to kidnap the mare and her unborn foal.

Sharon Siamon (sharonsiamon.com) has written many other books for 8-12 year olds, including the Mustang Mountain and the Fishing For Trouble series.

Race to the Rescue (Saddle Island)

Kelsie is startled by a sudden request to rescue a racehorse. She has to make a snap decision to take Diamond, setting off a chain of events that will change Saddle Island forever. Book Three in the series.