HORSE

HORSE is the haunting debut of a plainspoken, utterly original new voice: a novel about a girl on the cusp of her teenage years, who is growing up faster than she ever hoped she would.

When Teagan's father abruptly abandons his family and his farm, Teagan finds herself wading through the wreckage of what was once an idyllic life, searching for something--or someone--to hold on to. What she finds is Ian, short for Obsidian: the magnificent but dangerously headstrong horse her father left behind. But even as she grows close to Ian, patiently training him, trying to overcome her fear of him, Teagan is learning that life and love are fragile. With an unflinching eye and remarkable restraint, English tells a piercing story about how families hold together and fall apart; about loss and grief; about friendship; about the blunt cruelty of chance; and finally, about forgiveness.

Talley English received her BA in Liberal Arts with a concentration in Creative Writing from Goucher College. She is a recipient of a poetry award from Goucher College's Kratz Center for Creative Writing. She holds an MFA from Hollins University, where she received the Academy of American Poets' Gertrude Claytor Poetry Prize. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with her daughter and two dogs.