The Ghost Horse of Meadow Green

Marie St. Onge-Davidson is president of the Essential English Centre in
Ottawa.

Anne Louise MacDonald’s first novel describes a young girl’s passion
for horses while creating an emotion-filled story chock full of mystery
and suspense.

Kim is a young girl who has just moved from British Columbia to Meadow
Green in a rural part of Nova Scotia. Her transition to her new home is
difficult enough with ongoing tension between her mother and father;
however, their new house in Meadow Green, reputed to be haunted, causes
her to be the object of ostracism at her new school. Kim dreams of her
own horse, and Ghost becomes that horse. Is Ghost real or simply Kim’s
imaginary friend? Kim’s grandmother, ill with Alzheimer’s, comes to
stay with them in their new home and that serves to exacerbate an
already difficult family situation. Ghost becomes the means by which Kim
discovers self-confidence and the ability to build a solid relationship
with her irritable father while creating a warm and loving bond with her
dying grandmother.

The novel provides realistic dialogue between its engaging characters
and glimpses into Kim’s thoughts, enabling the reader to become
immersed in the unfolding story. MacDonald’s skill at weaving just the
right amount of colourful descriptions into the text enhances this
exceptional story of a girl and her ghost horse. Although there are no
illustrations except for the beautiful cover design by Julia Naimska,
each chapter is approximately 9 to 12 pages in length, making for an
uninterrupted and enjoyable read. Highly recommended.