Fetlocks Hall 4: The Enchanted Pony by Babbette Cole (7 years +)

                                                                 (Funky purple cover!)

June 2011, Bloomsbury

144 pages, Paperback

Review copy 

Children's, 7 years + 

life at boarding school, pony mad children, school mad centaureen, making new friendships, ghostly fun, lots of humour, tissues are definitely needed

Summary from Bloomsbury

Penny Simms and her best friend Pip are both pony mad. Luckily they attend the equestrian boarding school Fetlocks Hall, but there is a mystery surrounding the disappearance of Pip’s parents, and Penny and Pip are determined to solve it.

With the help of Princess Sophie, a Centaureen, Penny and Pip encounter a magical world of mythical horses, where they struggle to release Pip’s parents from an enchanted spell and reunite the family

Nayuleska's reasons for loving Penny....she goes to great lengths to help the Centaureen learn to read - although she surprises Penny with her skill. In turn the Centaureen helps Penny overcome a few problems. 

Is there another character who deserves a mention? The Centaureen is really funny, I wished so hard that she could fit in at Fetlocks, but she does eventually fit in at home with her family, thanks to Penny. 

How evil/nasty is the enemy? I liked how once again the problem in the story was magical in nature, but centred around Pip's parents (who are mortal). The creatures at the heart of the kidnapping are sneaky in how they trap people and I was scared for Penny even with all her abilities as the Unicorn Princess. 

Are there plenty of plot twists and surprises? There are shedloads of surprises in this book - I looked stunned for most of it. I laughed a lot, and the end made me well up with tears. 

My favourite part was...when the Centaureen was true to herself, and used skills which were incredibly awesome. Also the end, because several characters had a happy resolution to their problems. I like crying happy tears over a book. 

This series keeps on getting better - book 4 gets 10/10 from me. 

You can find out more about Fetlocks Hall and Babbette on her website.

Suggested read

Check out the other books in the series (all reviewed here on NRC), which start with The Unicorn Princess