Jumping Into Trouble Series

John Emery Phillips is the boy who wants a horse more than anything in the world, and who causes twice as much chaos once he has one. Meet Roanie: a bony, knock-kneed roan gelding with a past he keeps secret, a trick that nobody expects, and a talent for landing his owner in situations that would make a sensible person give up on horses altogether. Meet Blue: a small blue heeler with strong opinions about everyone John meets and a complete inability to stay out of anyone else's business. Together, the three of them careen through misadventures that range from raft rescues and riding school catastrophes to circus escapades and a horse-theft ring spreading across the countryside. John grows from a resentful boy who can't afford a saddle into someone who has survived a circus, outwitted thieves, and earned friendships that don't flinch in an emergency. He never quite manages to stay out of trouble. He never quite manages to learn from it either. But he keeps going, and the horses and the dog and the adventures keep coming. For readers who want their fiction fast, funny, and built around characters who feel completely, uncontrollably alive.