Out of the Valley of Horses

Finished May 10

Out of the Valley of Horses by Wendy Orr

This children's novel is set in a near future where a family decides to leave the city during a difficult time. There has been a spreading illness, and societal unrest as a result. The main character, Honey, is a young child, and her grandfather used to drive an ice cream truck. After he retired, he and her grandmother converted the truck into a small camper van equipped with solar panels. Honey's parents and her grandmother took her and her younger brother and went into the countryside looking for a place to camp and live for a while. They came to a place where a bridge took them into a mountain valley where there were a number of extraordinary horses. 

This all happened seven years earlier. Honey and her family discovered that they could no longer find their way out of the valley soon after they arrived. Since then, they've lived off the land and the supplies that they brought with them. They are generally content there, but miss their extended family. 

They have grown close to the horses. Each family member has been chosen by a horse who will let them ride it and whom they have a close relationship with. Honey's horse is Moongold, a name she knows belongs to it. The horses do dances together and sometimes make communal noises that sound like a song to the family. 

The story is interspersed with texts from the family looking for them, and hoping they are well, unsure what happened to them. Each of the adults in the family has phones, but they aren't connecting with the outside world. 

When Honey's father starts feeling unwell, they try harder to find a way out, but nothing they try seems to work, all trails leading back to their valley. They are reminded of a story of their great-grandfather's when he took a ride out of the city on his horse and found a valley. He stayed there for seven years, in a cabin he built himself, and then was able to leave and come out to the rest of the world. 

Honey's upcoming eleventh birthday will be exactly seven years since the family entered the valley. She can't help but wonder if this will be the chance they have to leave the valley they love to save her father, even if it means leaving the valley forever. 

I really enjoyed this tale of magic and resilience. The family has used their skills and resources well, growing some food, and finding others in their environment. The adults teach the kids, and share stories as part of a routine. Honey is at the age where she is adult enough to notice changes in the situation and look for ways to help. A great story.