Sarah R. Baughman

What a fun middle-grade book! The characters were so sweet and the mystery a great side-plot.
First off, the friendship between Claire and Maya was beautiful. No, it was not perfect but even that small detail added so much to the story. They had their disagreements but they were so...I don't even know how to describe it.
Another aspect of the story that I couldn't help but love was the mystery from the past. It was woven so well into the story and just drew me in.
The last thing that I really enjoyed was the writing style. It was never clunky and always smooth with interesting wording.
If you or a middle-grade kid enjoy stories about horses with a touch of mystery, I highly recommend you pick up The Wild Path.

Rating: 4/5
Romance: n/a
Spiritual: n/a
Language: n/a
Violence: n/a
Note: references an accident that happened many years in the past, MC's brother is in rehab for drug usage

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts are my own and a positive review was not required.

Favorite Quotes:
I open the office door. The room around me feels like a ship, pitching and heaving in storms.
I stumble down the tall, taking big gulps of air to make the sparrows leave.
But they stay. They're whirling too fast for me to catch, their wings slapping my ribs.
No matter how hard I try to brush the sound of Maya's voice away, it's the only thing I hear.

Hooves, curling up, then striking the ground. Tails, streaked with silver. Outstretched necks. I rub my eyes, trying to adjust to the growing dark.
The hooves slow a little as they bear down beside me, then widen and turn until I realize I'm surrounded by a circle of horses. They look at me with their liquid eyes, calm as ponds. They nicker softly, air whooshing through their soft noses. They bow their heads.
"I don't know where to go," I say out loud.
One of the horses tosses her head and I follow the motion, up to the top of what I now see is my favorite maple tree, the one with low branches and a huge V right in the middle, close enough that even when I was little I could always climb up, nestle in, and see far.
I though I was so far away. But I'm almost home.

*Quotes were taken from an advance review copy and are subject to change.… (més)

12 YO Claire is dealing with anxiety, worry over her brother's addiction, and her family's need to sell their horses to pay bills. Really good at tackling the issues associated with addiction -- Claire is in a support group where the members all have different stories about their relatives with addition and where that journey can lead. I liked that it was the white family with the addict and Claire's Latinx best friend who's father is the judge who determined her brother's case. mix of real and potentially imaginary horses works well and Claire's research leads to her own sort of happy ending, where a neighbor will start a rehab center that focuses on horse care and Claire and her horses will work for him.… (més)