Whisper by Lauren K. Lotter

From Amazon:
Rachel's family raises purebred quarter horses, but even though she is surrounded by beautiful horses, she still longs for a horse for her own. And when her dad takes her to a local auction, she only has eyes for one horse - and one horse alone. A terrified mare tries to hide her fear beneath a hardened exterior, but Rachel knows better. Everything within her knows that they were meant for each other. Once they get her home, the challenge is on. Can Rachel convince a frightened, abused animal to trust again? Will the mare ever overcome her fear? And why is Ralph, a mysterious and dark-hearted stranger, so determined to steal the mare away? Join Rachel and her family as they struggle to teach trust and love to the beautiful grey mare. Will they ever succeed? And will Rachel ever find the perfect name for her?

This is a book I've had on my Kindle for a long time and have wanted to read for even longer. I've followed Lauren for a couple years now and her farm life and love for horses attracted me immediately. I also try to enable young authors to follow their publishing and writing dreams, so a book review is one of the ways I can do that. :) 

Whisper is a sweet story about Rachel and her desire to tame a fearful horse she's acquired. While her family is unsure as to how she'll do that, her father constantly reminds her to give and receive trust...and to wait on and pray to God for wisdom. I love the scattered bits of Scripture "jewels" that Lotter weaves into her story. Not preachy, but frequent and refreshing. I also enjoyed seeing Rachel and her sister interact with each other in a very real family setting. 

Throughout the book Lotter demonstrates her knowledge of horses as she sneaks in little bits of how horses think and how to train them, almost without the reader noticing. As a horse lover myself, I learned several things that I didn't know before--all while reading a book! This was one of my favorite parts of Whisper. 

I would say this book is written for readers aged 9-15 or so. Obviously, this depends on the maturity of the reader, but even though I'm in my 20s, I also enjoyed reading it. By way of (hopefully) constructive criticism, I could tell that this book was written by a newer author. There is nothing wrong with that and writing tends to improve with maturity and experience. I felt at times like I was being told most of what took place rather than feeling like I experienced it with the characters. The plot was simple (though would be still audience captivating for younger readers), and I actually liked reading a book that was wholesome, but that I didn't have to think too much about. 

I'm excited to see where Miss Lotter goes with her publishing journey, and I'd recommend this book to any young girl who loves animals and mysteries.