SOLVED. YA Fantasy. Overweight boy meets girl from another planet who speaks backwards. He rides a carousel horse to transport to her land. Read in mid 1970's. [s]

[Lisa]

Some spoilers ahead - I read this book in the mid 1970's. An overweight boy lived on a farm. A girl appears who speaks and reads backward from another planet.

She came on a carousel horse and wants him to go back to her land, but he is too heavy, so she gives him a candy that helps him lose weight so he can ride on the horse with her. They twist the ear of the horse to get it to transport. They hide the horse in a barn.

I can't remember parts of it, but at the end of the book, the boy transports back from the land to the barn alone. He had been in danger and is unconscious. When he wakes up, he goes to the barn and tries to twist the ear of the horse, but his parents tell him that the ear was gone and his dad made a new one for it. The girl is gone and he never sees her again.

[Andria]

Ride a Wild Horse?

link to the Kirkus review which has more detail than the GR summary: https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-re...

[Lisa]

Solved! Yes, that is it, thank you so much. I read the review and it is not exactly glowing, but I remember not wanting to put this book down.

Now off to find a copy

[Andria]

You're welcome! I would take the Kirkus review with a grain of salt, their reviews are notoriously....salty.