City of Horses

by Frances Moloney

Thirteen-year-old Misty loves her house and her friends. But when her dad loses his job, she knows everything is about to change. Moving with her dad to Redbridge council estate brings plenty of surprises - she wasn't expecting to live on an estate where ponies run free, and she definitely wasn't expecting to meet Dylan, a mysterious local boy who loves horses... All Misty wants is to keep acting like everything's normal, but will she ever truly feel at home?

Genres: Middle Grade

224 pages, Paperback

Published September 28, 2023

About the author

Frances is a children’s author, editor & literary consultant with over ten years of experience, specialising in commercial and literary children’s fiction.

She was born and raised in London, where she now lives having spent brief stints in Cornwall, where she studied English with Creative Writing at Falmouth, and Sweden. She has worked in the world of stories for over ten years and loves reading, running and yoga - though not all at the same time! The Mystery of the Missing Mum is her first novel.

Reviews

[Chloe Booth-Dobson · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a stunning story about Misty and her quest to find her home after her life is upended. I was totally encapsulated from the beginning by the interesting cast of characters and their stories. Moloney sensitively tackles the tough topics of family, friendship, grief, unemployment, poverty and prejudice to make this a fun and faced past story with strong and important messages that blend perfectly with the plot to make a wonderful read.

It’s the perfect read for fans of Jacqueline Wilson, Kelly Yang and Cathy Cassidy and with lots of horses involved it’s definitely going to appeal to fans of Olivia Tuffin and Stacy Gregg too! I will definitely be recommending this to lots of young readers!

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[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

City of Horses is a middle-grade novel about a girl who has recently moved into a new part of town. There she meets new friends and learns to ride. It’s sort of a horsey novel, but it also focuses on some social issues that she faces. It’s a bit like Jacqueline Wilson but more modern, mixed up with an old-timey horse book. I have to say, whereas I love both of those things, and I did enjoy the mash-up, it didn’t quite work. I feel like the book would have been stronger if it was one or the other. I enjoyed the Jacqueline Wilson style social parts more than the horse parts.

The main character is a 13-year-old girl called Misty who lives with her dad. Her mum died a couple of years before the story starts, and she doesn’t have any siblings. The book features Misty’s two best friends, Ruby and Jasmine. Ruby was my favourite character and I also really liked Jasmine. The problem was that I liked Misty’s friends more than Misty. Misty starts out the book living in what I assume is a nicer area, and they end up having to move to a rougher area when Misty’s dad loses his job. Misty is embarrassed and hides what’s been going on from her friends. Once the story moves to Misty’s new home in Redbridge, we meet Dylan and the horses, and Misty’s world is split in two as she tries to adjust to her new home and hide everything from her richer friends.

The book was really enjoyable and I kept wanting to read it or read more of it. This is a big deal for me lately! It reads like a middle grade, but the characters are 13 and in Year 9 at school, so it was a bit jarring at times. I also got frustrated when I realised it was a save-the-horses type of horse story in part, because I’ve read that trope a few times before. I also didn’t really get the title, City of Horses sounds like it would be set in a city, or have some fantasy element to it. It was mostly set on a working-class housing estate and there was no fantasy element to it at all. It was still good though.

All in all, I had a few problems with City of Horses, but I did really enjoy it and I will keep an eye out for the author.

3.75 out of 5 stars. (It’s nearly a 4.)

[Katy Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Contemporary family story showing how love for animals can soothe, inspire and bring people together.

Both transcends the 'horse book' stereotype and also slots easily into the genre.

Misty... yes Misty. That's not a horse name. Misty and her dad are still grieving the death of her mother, with Dad struggling on at work and at home to keep things normal for his now teenage daughter.

Misty is trying to stay present with her friends, to be interested in their lives and interests, when her Dad loses his job and they have to move to a downmarket area she knows will embarrass her to mention. They need to use a foodbank. She avoids their questions and pretends nothing has changed.

Unhappy, ashamed and lonely on the new estate and seeing her father floundering for work and to mend their rapport, Misty sees horses being stabled and cared for on the nearby common. She is drawn to both the animals and their human family, a group descended from travellers who welcome the desolate teen into their world.

Can Misty see her way to fitting her two worlds together somehow? With a demanding and somewhat self-obsessed best friend? New friends, an abandoned horse she's falling for? And then of course, a sub-plot threatening the future of the common land the horses live on?

This was, yes, an enjoyable read. But it did conform to a lot of genre stereotypes I remember from horse series of my adolescence, and did move along as I suspected it would. For those not overly familiar with this type of story, it does bring a contemporary freshness with the sub-Mean Girls friendship (that moves away from it) and the almost not-romance that moves towards it.

Not just for readers who love horses, it's a good friendship/family story as well. For ages 9-14.

With thanks to the publisher for providing a sample reading copy.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Format: Ebook

When thirteen-year-old Misty’s dad loses his job, she’s forced to move away from the home and friends she loves to the Redbridge estate where horses roam free. Misty soon finds herself living two lives – the one with her friends at school, whom she’s determined to keep up appearances for, and her new life on the estate with the horses and the mysterious Dylan. When the horses she’s grown to love come under threat, her two lives collide and she must find a way to save the place she now calls home.

I felt so nostalgic while reading. The author describes the book in heir acknowledgements as an ode to the pony books they read as a child, and I couldn’t agree with this more. It was so nice to immerse myself in a ‘pony story’ but not just the tried-and-tested pony story, but one that felt like more than a pony story.

Misty was a very realistic character. Spending time with her and her friends reminded me so much of what it was like to be a thirteen-year-old girl – while my own childhood was quite different and I didn’t always agree with her choices, I could understand why she was making them and appreciated the feelings she had despite it being a long time since I was that age.

Beyond this, I felt like the book dealt so well with a wealth of other important topics for its target age range, including friendship, grief, unemployment, poverty and so so much more.

And of course, we can’t forget the bond between human and animal – I am a big believer in the healing power of horses and this was truly showcased in this book.

I would completely recommend this book to a new generation of pony lovers, and an older one – I have no doubt it will be appearing on my ‘pony shelf’ too!

With thanks to Pushkin Children's Books via NetGalley for the copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thing about middle grade fiction is that it is often about friendships and self worth, because that is what is most important in that age group. This book is no exception, but the social standing issue is also thrown in. Misty, the main character, has to move to a lower-class part of town after her father loses his job, and she tries to hide that fact from her two best friends.

Thus begins the story of a girl who moves out where the poor people live, near a “common” area of wild horses and garden allotments, which she grows to love, just in time for the local city council to decide to sell the land to put up luxury apartments.

So, Misty has to embrace her new home, rather than be ashamed of it, in order to save the common area, and the land the horses live on.

I liked how she slowly came to embrace living where they move to, and not being ashamed of it. We all have preconceived notions about the “other” until we become them, and then realize that they are just like regular people.

Cute story. I liked how this was not an easy process for Misty or her friends.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book will but published on the 1st of April 2025.

[Sue Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really lovely story that will appeal to young girls and boys who love a family story with friendships and ponies thrown in. The story is about Misty whose mum has passed away and now is coming to terms with her loss. She has two very good friends at school but she is horrified when her dad loses his job and they have to move to a different part of town. Misty is ashamed to tell her friends the truth about the circumstances and the move and tries to keep up the pretense that nothing has changed. She makes new friends in her new neighborhood, particularly Dylan and his family. The ponies that they all care for live on the local common and Misty gradually starts to enjoy her new life.
There are lots of twists and anxious moments especially when her old friends find out the truth but everything comes out right in the end. I loved reading pony books when I was growing up and this is one that I would have loved.

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s hard to go wrong with a book that has animals both in the title and on the cover. We follow Misty as her family undergoes financial struggles and she is forced to move, causing friendship DRAMA at the teen/teeen level. The characters were all realistic and relatable to me, as an adult, and I suspect they will be to teens/tweens as well.

This is a great middle grade story for anyone looking for a realistic fiction book that touches on current, real life struggles and the comfort that animals bring to our lives. I will be recommending this for my school’s library once it is released.

I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley.

[EC · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautiful and tender tale about Misty and her journey to find a new home after her life has been turned upside down. This is a captivating and fast-paced story with a strong plot and well-drawn characters. The bond that develops between Misty and Dylan is unique. I loved the estate setting and the roaming ponies. I would have loved a story like this when I was young.
Frances Moloney writes with sensitivity, imagination and insight. Highly recommended. I can’t wait for her next story.

[Helen Kingsley Bryant · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up.
Lots of interesting and important themes are raised in this novel which I enjoyed: the effect of bereavement on a family; unemployment and the use of food banks and prejudice against those living in social housing as well as the interesting addition of Irish traveller traditions.

[Bibliohiker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. Misty is having to move cause her dad lost his job. She delays in telling her friends because of where she now lives. This book deals with the power of friendship and how they are still friends and stay strong. She becomes really good friends with the family nearby. They also take a stand for what they believe in.

[Gracie:) · Rating 4 out of 5]

A heart-warming novel that tells the story of a young girl who has lost her mother. She moves to a council estate with her dad and finds herself bonding with these horses. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to all teenage girls!

[Mrs Walsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m over the moon to have discovered this author. So many tough issues tackled in this book. From grief, poverty, change and how we approach it. I loved watching the characters develop and the story unfold. Also nice to have the inclusion of horses and what they can bring to our lives.

[Dawn Lawrence Read_with_Lola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for the pre teen/teen who loves ponies. It’s a story about grief, sadness, anger and friendship, love and acceptance. Beautifully written and emotional. Ponies can definitely heal a broken heart! I would buy and gift this book I really enjoyed reading it.

[Lucie Hettler]

so goood