• Age: 12 to 18
• Grade: 8 to 12
• Reading age: 12 to 18

When fifteen-year-old Abby is seriously injured, her wounds go far deeper than her broken back.

Rehabilitation therapy teaches her to cope with her new physical reality but once she's home with her family, she refuses to participate in life and withdraws into a world of drugs.

Abby's family discovers her addiction, and she is sent to a farm that specializes in Equine Assisted Therapy. She must still do battle with her cravings, but when she witnesses the connection between another young patient and a pony, she decides that if this girl can heal, she too can learn to be present in life again.

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!

K.L. Denman was born in Calgary, Alberta, and spent her childhood in a house one street away from the open prairie. When she was 11, her family moved to Delta, British Columbia, and she got to know life on the coast: tides, clam digging, rain gear, green grass year-round and enormous trees. It was there that Kim and her sisters got their first pony. She continued to live near Vancouver for many years while finishing school, attending college, and eventually getting married and starting a family. She always loved writing and when her teen children and their friends provided inspiration and re-kindled memories of this challenging passage, writing for teens became an irresistible venture.

Today she lives on a small farm on British Columbia's Sunshine Coast with her family of people, two dogs, three cats, two horses and an elderly mule. When she's not writing or caring for critters, she's reading, trying to grow vegetables, taking pictures, or volunteering at therapeutic riding. More information about Kim is available on her website at www.kldenman.com.

K.L. Denman's profile page

• Commended, CCBC Best Books for Kids & Teens

"Surprisingly touching...captures something about the near-mystical quality of the connection between horses and people."

CBC Radio One - All Points West

"An excellent addition to Orca's high interest, low vocabulary "Soundings" series...a realistic and thoroughly gripping read. Highly recommended."

CM Magazine

"Highly recommended."

Tucson Unified School District

"Succeeds with a strong plot and suitably empathetic characters to attract a teen audience...Contains a surprisingly realistic and positive message about dealing with life's challenges."

Southwestern Ohio Young Adult Materials Review Group

"Strongly recommended for school libraries...The emotional yet believable plot is deftly told with honesty and freshness. The focus on what is possible may cause some students to review their choices and set a new focus."

Tri State Young Adult Book Review Committee