Not on a White Horse

by Nancy Springer

From the day twelve-year-old Rhiannon spots a lost white Arabian gelding in the woods near her small Pennsylvania mining town, her life finds a focus as she learns to deal with family problems and decides the direction her life will take

Genres: Horses

182 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

BIO -- NANCY SPRINGER


Nancy Springer has passed the fifty-book milestone, having written that many novels for adults, young adults and children, in genres including mythic fantasy, contemporary fiction, magical realism, horror, and mystery -- although she did not realize she wrote mystery until she won the Edgar Allan Poe Award from the Mystery Writers of America two years in succession. DARK LIE, recently released from NAL, is her first venture into mass-market psychological suspense.
Born in Montclair, New Jersey, Nancy Springer moved with her family to Gettysburg, of Civil War fame, when she was thirteen. She spent the next forty-six years in Pennsylvania, raising two children (Jonathan, now 38, and Nora, 34), writing, horseback riding, fishing, and birdwatching. In 2007 she surprised her friends and herself by moving with her second husband to an isolated area of the Florida panhandle, where the birdwatching is spectacular and where, when fishing, she occasionally catches an alligator.

Reviews

[Megan Mc · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just reread this childhood favorite. This book is an interesting blend of child and adult problems. While it is about a horse loving girl searching for a missing white arabian, it also heavily involves her life in a rundown penn. coal town and her alcoholic/out of work father. I think this is an especially good read for those kids living a hard life, it's a good old instirational story that says not only can you follow your love (in this case of horses), but you can channel it into a career and do what you love, breaking your family pattern.

[Sharon Buxton · Rating 2 out of 5]

D+. fiction, YA, family problems, horses, from stash, discard

[Rena Sherwood · Rating 2 out of 5]

Now, I once had the good fortune of meeting Nancy Springer sometime in the 1990s at the Border's (remember them) book store (remember THEM?) in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. She seemed friendly but spaced-out. Which should have warned me about books by her published around that time would be like.



A strange slice-of-life book about how it sucks to live in rural Pennsylvania. Not much about horses -- more about dysfunctional interpersonal relationships brought about by poverty. Rather depressing book. Most vivid scene -- slave-like younger sister telling spoiled older sister to "Go do it yourself." Also bizarre scene of parents yelling at older sister for eloping and discovering that life outside home wasn't all about "making love." Eww.



But my main problem is the white horse, who I think was named Prince. Nothing happened with him. He was mentioned, he ran by all horsey and then was gone. And he warrants being the title animal? WTF?

[Md · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my favorite horse books, Rhe deals with growing up and finds horses make great friends and that she can accomplish more than she thought if she tries hard. The white horse is actually a grey Arab that is lost in the woods and she also realizes that boys aren't going to ride up on a white horse and fix everything.

[Jenn Lessmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved this book as a kid and reread it often (not something I usually did when there were so many other books in the world to be discovered).

[Kirsten · Rating 4 out of 5]

I great coming of age book for anyone who loves horses.

[Yoana Corro · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book when I was younger, and I hope to read it again. I've been going crazy trying to remember the title, and I am so glad that I finally found it again!