Heather Richardson had an instinct for horses like many girls her age had for the latest fashions in Aéropostale  or American Eagle.  Her sense of style was captivated by the long, elegant graceful lines of the Morgan horse.  She took one look at this dark chestnut mare with a white star on her forehead and was hooked almost instantly, but her father reminded her she already had three horses and that was more than enough.  Blackjack, Frosty and Shadow were wonderful, but  . . .  another Morgan horse would be heaven on earth. Her friend, Karen, wasn't having any more luck with her parents, but Chauncy, owner of the Gallant Morgan Horse Farm, close friend and mentor, was checking this little horse out.  

The mare had weathered the overnight storm, but behind those expressive eyes was a horse, one whose hidden secrets of cruel treatment and a horrendous fire were haunting memories, memories that once brought terror into those beautiful eyes. Heather picked the icicles from her hide and waited patiently for Chauncy's decision.  The horse wasn't even registered and nobody seemed to know anything about her, but she was free for the taking.   She looked like a Morgan, she trotted like a Morgan and Heather knew if she could talk she'd tell everyone she was a Morgan.  "Free, huh?" Chauncy checked the mare over one more time and gave the girls a smile.  Yes, yes, YES!   The little chestnut mare was coming home.

Heather and the new addition to the Gallant Morgan Horse Farm  soon became acquainted with each other.  The mare had some odd little quirks and seemed awfully uptight, but that was nothing a young horse lover couldn't overcome in time with a lot of love and patience.   When asked to do one thing, the horse would balk or do something totally goofy like nuzzle Heather's foot.  A horse that was such a total goofball could only have one name and it was going to be Annie Bananie, Annie for short, least ways until her real name was found.  The identity of this horse remained to be seen, but in the meantime Heather and Annie had a lot of work to do.

Heather was one busy teenager, more so than the average girl, considering she had not one, but three horses to tend to.  Make that four with Annie.  Caring for the horses was almost a full time job for Heather and if anyone thought that her daily routine consisted solely of mucking out the stable they had another think coming.  In addition to all her chores she was getting Blackjack ready for the Justin Morgan Class at the Vermont Country Show in the spring.

Everything was going just fine until she ran into her old friend, Jennifer, at a horse show.  To her absolute horror Heather's friend told her who Annie really was.  Heather began to panic.  Was she going to lose Annie?   It was then than she began to lie to save the little chestnut mare with the star on her forehead.  She lied and she lied  . . .  and then she lied some more.  

Ellen F. Feld, award-winning author, equine journalist and phenomenally passionate horse lover, once again reaches out to the hearts and dreams of the teenaged horse-loving set with her anxiously awaited new book "Annie: The Mysterious Morgan Horse."

No doubt about it, I'm simply captivated by Ellen Feld's Morgan Horse series.  I like the way Feld easily reintroduces characters from the earlier books, horses and people alike.  This book can stand alone, but is even better if you're familiar with the others in the series. She really knows about horses and, without trying to be trite,  is the horse whisperer of the teen horse set.   Anyone who doesn't like horses will want to fall in love with them after reading any book by Ellen Feld,  and "Annie: The Mysterious Morgan Horse" is no exception.