A girl, a horse and the magical Irish countryside; what a great story! CHESCA AND THE SPIRIT OF GRACE grabs our affection immediately and whisks us off to Howth harbour, north of Dublin. Chesca O'Brien understands what her animal friends say - so much so, that she doesn't want human pals.
Malley the stallion is fond of Chesca but her dairy-farming father won't let the girl ride such a spirited horse. Chesca's favourite spot is "surrounded by old stone walls and steeped in history. An old ruin of a cottage... the fields and meadows all fell away to the cliffs and down to the beach, cove, village and harbour." The scene-setting is excellent. Chesca enjoys trick-riding on her mare Star but Malley tells the girl that he is descended from a horse owned by the pirate queen Grace O'Malley.
The O'Briens run pony-trekking and between costs, insurance and loans, the banker issues a warning. What could a girl of eleven, who's away with the fairies half the time, possibly do to save her home? Then the unthinkable happens and Chesca's mother is taken ill. Cultured, unfeeling Aunt Dena arrives, promptly kicking the friendly dog and doubting that her sister ever had a manicure.
The contrasts are vivid - a sudden acrid smell of nail- polish remover in the farm kitchen, a farmer donning a suit to visit the hospital. Chesca is made to feel guilty for her stubbornness; seeing her venerable home from her aunt's point of view, she realises that is draughty and hard to keep. What does Dena mean about calling in pest control? Chesca and her pet mouse haven't a clue. "I bet she was dropped on her head as a baby," grumbles the rebellious girl. There's worse to come!
I laughed as I read and loved this story. Young adults, especially girls, will relate to Chesca and her need to save her home. She learns that human friends come through, and that people do strange things in difficult times. Lara O'Brien's CHESCA AND THE SPIRIT OF GRACE is an excellent YA book which many adults will also enjoy.
A story of love and land, of winning friendships and having
the courage to believe in your dreams.
11-year-old Chesca O'Brien, Howth's greatest (and only)
Trick Rider plans to ride Malley, the farm's wild stallion,
and put on a show no one will forget - especially show
jumping champion, Mary Murphy.
But then her Ma gets sick and Da stops talking, which leaves
the farmyard wide open to all kinds of problems.
Inspired by Ireland's most famous Pirate Queen, Grace
O'Malley, Chesca must take on the might of a developer,
rally a town, and fight the fight of her life to save all
she holds dear.
An Irish tale of talking animals, a magical mountain and
galloping sideways.
Excerpt
It all started the day Chesca sat on a bale of hay in the
barn sniffing and
lamenting the death of Pig Senior. Malley, their champion of
stallions and leader of horses for miles around
took a few steps toward her and stood so
near she could touch him, and she did. She put her hand
out and touched his silky nose, something she had never
done before. The light fell on the threads of gold that ran
through his chestnut coat. She remembered how her
heart beat like a drum and the warmth of his breath and
the glimpse of a spark in his eye, and she did not feel
afraid by his size or his mighty energy. She felt a soft
breeze embrace her even though it was December. She
thought she heard the word calm. She continued staring
deep into his eyes, knowing something had changed,
shifted, something magical was happening.
Then it happened. Polly, her black and white dog, laid
her head on Chesca’s knee and whimpered, “I’ll miss Pig
Senior, too.”
Chesca said calmly, as if it was a very normal thing to
hear your dog talking to you,
“I know you will, Polly,” and they put their heads
together and cried some more.
That was the very first time Chesca heard any animal
talk.
They might neigh, or grunt or bark or bleat, but she
understood every word.
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