The Horse's Shadow

Nikki Tate-Stratton writes children’s picture books and novels for
preteens. Her most recent novels are Raven’s Revenge, Tarragon Island,
and Jo’s Journey. Her latest picture book is Grandparents’ Day.

Thirteen-year-old Claire Vigere’s gift for working with horses lies at
the emotional heart of this novel. Claire and her family are poor
habitants living in rural Quebec in the 1800s. They own little of value,
except their fine Canadian horses, which are descended from horses sent
to Acadia by King Louis XIV. Two of the Vigere’s horses are sold to a
dealer who supplies horses to soldiers fighting in the U.S. Civil War.
In an effort to protect those horses, Claire, disguised as a deaf boy,
stows away in the back of the horse trader’s wagon. On reaching
Williamstown, she joins the Union Army and befriends Moses, a runaway
slave (who really is deaf). The two young soldiers work with the horses
and eventually carry a message through enemy territory in order to
secure reinforcements for their battered regiment.

Scanlan’s strengths as a non-fiction author are obvious, as is his
knowledge of his subject matter: the historical details are plentiful
and engagingly written. Unfortunately, The Horse’s Shadow is not
entirely successful as a work of fiction. The constantly shifting point
of view (the reader knows what Claire, her family members, the horse
trader, numerous other minor characters, and even the horses are
thinking and feeling) serves to distance the reader from the main
character. Occasional authorial asides directed at the reader (“But
that is another story”) pull the reader from the narrative. In good
historical fiction, the reader is caught up in the characters and
storytelling: historical details serve to enrich the story, rather than
the story providing a handy vehicle for disseminating information. Too
often, Scanlan drops the storyline, dons his historian’s hat, and
inserts a mini-lecture, shattering the mood, rhythm, and feeling of the
narrative line.

Where the book works best is when Scanlan resists the impulse to
educate and gets on with relating Claire’s story, from her point of
view. Despite the novel’s shortcomings, horse lovers will enjoy this
story of a feisty heroine willing to go to great lengths to protect her
equine companions—Scanlan’s understanding and appreciation of horses
shines through on every page. Historical fiction aficionados, though,
will find Scanlan has room for improvement within this tricky genre.
Recommended with reservations.