Featuring stunning cover artwork by Levi Pinfold and interior illustrations by Marie-Alice Harel, Finding Wonder by Lauren St John is a perfectly plotted mystery with a love of horses and a compassionate exploration of families threaded through its pages. A wonderful adventure full of hope and positivity and simply perfect for horse lovers.

Within just a few pages Lauren St James propels her readers into a dramatic turn of events for this story’s likeable protagonist, Roo. We swiftly find out that 11 year-old Roo’s mother has died a few years ago and then her dad dies whilst out buying a lottery ticket. Now orphaned Roo feels like the unluckiest girl in the world. Until she discovers a letter from her Dad, a letter which urges her to ‘Grab life by the wings and fly.’ With the help of her aunt, Joni, Roo sets out to buy her dream horse – a beautiful show jumper named Wonder Boy. Then Wonder vanishes without a trace. Determined to save him, Roo and Joni investigate his disappearance. But as the mystery deepens and more prize horses are stolen, the pair find themselves drawn into a thrilling, but dangerous, adventure.

The attention grabbing opening ensures the reader swiftly connects with Roo and cares about her but then, I felt, the story does not follow the path I initially expected. As the well paced plot transports aunt and niece around the country as they attempt to foil the horse thieves we also witness the effects of their past experiences and their losses on them both. Rather than exploring the life changing aspect of a lottery win Lauren St John guides readers through Roo and Joni’s gradual bonding and their joint discovery of what matters to them individually and as a family.

The mystery itself is well written with moments of high drama and excitement and clues scattered throughout with some intriguing characters and plot twists deployed along the way. The author’s knowledge and love of horses is apparent throughout and the horses are in many ways the stars of the story. All of this combines in an excellent satisfying read but it is the optimism, the wisdom and the kind tone encouraging understanding of others that gives this book its real heart. An exciting story and an uplifting one too.

Finding Wonder is published on 7th September and I should like to thank Bethany Carter and Faber Children’s Books for my proof copy. You can find out more about Lauren and her books on her newly updated website.