Sarah Maslin Nir, Pulitzer Prize-nominated New York Times reporter and author of the memoir Horse Crazy: The Story of a Woman in Love with an Animal, introduces her newest endearing equine character—a Norwegian Fjord named Billy—in her third novel, The Star Horse. Like the previous two books in her Once Upon a Horse series—The Flying Horse and The Jockey & Her Horse—Billy and horse-obsessed, seventh grader Lori Allegria’s tale is inspired by real horses and the people who love them.

Billy’s character, specifically, was based on a therapeutic riding horse Maslin Nir learned about while serving on the board of GallopNYC, one of New York City’s longtime therapeutic riding stables. Instead of touring at bookstores, the lifelong horsewoman opted to introduce her book to audiences at therapeutic riding facilities. Most recently, she drove 242 miles across Ohio over two days visiting therapeutic barns who’d invited her to read The Star Horse to their clients, volunteers and therapy horses. She also used the opportunity to thank those volunteers for the life-changing work they do on a daily basis.

“If my words have one crumb of the impact your work does, I feel I will have accomplished something real in this life,” Maslin Nir said. “I’m ready to visit a dozen more therapeutic riding facilities over the next few months of my book tour and am thrilled to tell them that you are all stars!”

Sneak Peek: The Star Horse

Even if you aren’t a horse-crazy middle-schooler—or don’t have one in the room next to you—it can be tons of fun to discover new horse stories reminding us of classics like Anna Sewell’s Black Beauty and Marguerite Henry’s Misty of Chincoteague that inspired many of us as horse-loving kids and teens.

Here, Maslin Nir provided us with a glimpse of Billy and Lori’s adventures in The Star Horse.

Lights . . . Camera . . . Giddyap?

Billy is a Norwegian Fjord—short as horses go, but with the natural star power of a Hollywood celebrity. Lori Allegria is a horse-loving seventh grader as awkward as she is tall for her age who finds refuge from her shyness on her family farm with her best friend: Billy, the Fjord.

Their peace is shattered when Billy is “discovered” by Marlowe Narang, superstar kid actor. Marlowe had been given the opportunity of a horsey lifetime—to star in a film! And with that, the chance for Lori and her mom to save their struggling stables. Lori tearfully agrees to send her horse to a new life across the country on the set of Marlowe’s newest Hollywood production, a Western set in a real ghost town.

But Billy’s star turn is cut short when a mountain lion stalks the desert set and sends him fleeing into the Mojave. When word gets back to Lori, she runs away, too—to find her Billy! Lost in the endless desert, as horse and girl make their way to each other, Lori and Billy both find they are not alone. Joined in their search by a cast of characters including wild donkeys, a sassy teenage cowgirl, a plucky service dog and even the world’s biggest kid actor himself, The Star Horse is a story about finding your herd—human and horse—and along the way, finding your voice.

Once Upon a Horse series:

The Flying Horse (#1)
The Jockey & Her Horse (#2), written with Raymond White Jr.
The Star Horse (#3)

For More:

• To purchase a copy of Sarah Maslin Nir’s latest novel, The Star Horse, click here. (You can also find at most major bookstores.)
• To listen to our sister brand’s Practical Horseman Podcast with Maslin Nir about her memoir Horse Crazy: The Story of a Woman in Love with an Animal, click here.
• You can read a previous Q&A we did with the author here.