Alison Lester: The Snow Pony

By MARGIE THOMSON

Australian Alison Lester is a tried and true writer and illustrator of storybooks for children, and this is her second novel, following the success of The Quicksand Pony.

Even those who don't enjoy horsey books will get caught up in this moving and satisfying story of 14-year-old Dusty who is growing up on a farm in the Southern Australian Alps. Her family has been a happy one, but is so no longer.

Three years of drought have almost put paid to her parents' marriage, and her father is succumbing to a particularly brutal form of despair. Dusty wrestles with loneliness and worry, but thankfully can pour many of her strong emotions into her relationship with her fabulous Snow Pony, a highly strung creature which trusts only Dusty.

Danger builds when a girl from Dusty's school gets into trouble with some older men, and things come to a head during a trip to the mountains behind Dusty's family's farm.

It's a gritty, contemporary growing-up story which evokes a gutsy country lifestyle and a sense of independence that city kids may well envy.

Allen & Unwin

$16.95