The moment Jessica lays eyes on the wild black-and-white paint filly, she knows it was meant to be
Jessica’s life at Wild Hawk Ranch is happy, if a bit quiet. But everything changes when her father and brother drive the latest herd of wild young quarter horses into the pen at the family ranch. There, she spots the most beautiful black-and-while paint filly she’s ever seen. She just knows . . . this is the year, and that is the horse. Her moment has come—she’ll finally get to join her father and brother in the family business of breaking wild horses, if only she can convince her father she is old enough.
But after a difficult turn, the family has no option but to keep the ranch afloat by turning it into a dude ranch for vacationing city folk. At first, Jess is thrilled by the idea. It will be fun to have new people around—and maybe the extra work will convince her father to give her Storm Chaser, the beautiful paint. But things get complicated when the guests begin arriving. Will Jess be able to salvage her old, happy life and save Storm Chaser from an uncertain future?
Chris Platt is an award-winning author of more than one dozen books for young readers about horses. Willow King was awarded the Golden Heart Award from the Romance Writers of America, and Star Gazer was part of the Kansas State Reading Circle Recommended Reading List, as well as a Parents’ Choice Approved book. Her other novels, including Moon Shadow, Storm Chaser, and Asta, have also earned prizes, such as the Bank Street College of Education Award, and have been championed by librarians, parents, and schools around the country.
Before earning her degree in journalism from the University of Nevada, Reno, Platt lived in Oregon, where she was one of the first female jockeys in the state. She is also a marathoner, plays the drums in a bagpipe band, and has a black belt in hard-style Shotokan Karate. She lives in Washoe Valley, Nevada, with her husband, four horses, two cats, and an ornery parrot.