Mystic and the Midnight Ride
Stacy Gregg
HarperCollins
pub. 2007

30 March, 2021

I don’t normally read horse books but this one really got me hooked in. Mystic and the Midnight Ride is an adventurous story by Stacy Gregg about a girl called Issie who has a horse called Mystic. Other characters are Blaze, another horse, and Avery, the strict but kind horse-riding instructor. When an accident occurs, Issie isn’t sure if she will ever be able to ride again.

Once I read the first page, I just wanted to keep reading. Then when I got onto the second page it was like I was getting transported to another dimension – it really set me a picture. There are some particular parts that really created a vivid image in my mind, such as “the clatter of gravel became the clean chime of metal horseshoes hitting tarmac as the horses struck the main highway.” Once I read that part I could really imagine it happening like it was real life.

Another one was “through the sirens and traffic noise she could make out a voice calling her name, and then everything faded to black.” This quote really sent a shiver down my spine.

When I finished reading the last page I just wished that the book would never end. On the last page of some chapters it would really leave me hanging. Some parts of the book made me shudder while others had me smiling a lot!

The book is easy to understand. There were enough new words to keep me challenged but not enough to make me lose interest. You can really follow what is happening.

This is a great book for anyone who likes horses, but also for anyone who likes action and adventure and being left in suspense.

Stacy Gregg has written many more of these descriptive horse books and I will certainly be seeking them out. All throughout the story, it was like I was in the book and I could see it all happening.

This was one of the few books that I have ever read that I didn’t want to end.

When I finished it, I kept thinking about it for a few days. It was honestly the most adventurous book I have ever read. When I read a similar book I immediately thought of Mystic and the Midnight Ride. When I was at school doing silent reading, I would wish I could read Mystic and the Midnight Ride. I can really picture the characters like they are real people and they are coming out of the book and speaking to me.

Stacy Gregg is a very talented author and will get lots of good reviews about her books. I have started reading the second book of hers, Blaze and the Dark Rider and I’m already hooked in, and I certainly think I will find her other books just as exciting.

Mystic and the Midnight Ride is also suitable for a wide range of ages. I love this book and my opinion is that you should read it.

• Eilis McIvor-Sharp is 12 and lives in Christchurch.