BELLOWS FALLS — Westminster West resident Jessie Haas will virtually visit Village Square Booksellers on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 11 a.m., to discuss her newest horse novel The Hungry Place.
In this horse adventure - described in a news release as “perfect for fans of Black Beauty” - a Connemara pony, is pampered and beloved, then abused and neglected, until a 12-year-old girl brings love to her again.
The pony, Princess, lives a charmed life of brown sugar cubes, crunchy apples, sweet grass, and adoration. But it is a lonely life; her elderly owner keeps Princess separate from other ponies so his show-ring champion will remain pristine.
When Princess's owner has a stroke, she is thrust into the care of an unscrupulous trainer and his wife, who steal from the farm and leave. Abandoned to starve with other, tougher ponies, Princess is bereft of all hope. Meanwhile, a girl named Rae wants a pony more than anything and is striving to make her unrealistic dream a reality.
Rae and Princess need each other, though neither realizes this when they eventually meet. Rae must learn to see beyond Princess's scars, and Princess must learn to trust again in order for them both to find their own hidden strengths and a home in each other.
Jessie Haas has written more than 35 books, most of them about horses. Her novels include Rescue, a Junior Library Guild selection; Shaper, which won a Golden Kite Honor Award, and Unbroken, which was a Publishers Weekly Best Book, a School Library Journal Best Book, and a CCBC Choice, among other honors.
To attend the discussion, call 802-463-9404 for book and Zoom event reservations. (Email will be required.) This event is co-sponsored by the Rockingham Free Public Library and the Friends of the Library.