DNF @ 45%

As someone who was and still is a bit horse crazy this one was a hard DNF. I just could not connect with the characters and I acknowledge I am not the target audience.

I received an ARC for this book from NetGalley.

This just didn't quite work for me unfortunately. I was expecting a book similar to [book:Gypsy from Nowhere|1444338] but that wasn't quite what it was.
I liked the descriptions of life on the ranch, and I enjoyed the setting a lot.
The characters and especially their lack of development are my main issue with this book. We spend quite a lot of time with them, but there is no development at all. Addie acts exactly the same at the beginning and the end of the book, despite all she's been through. This book is about friendships but it doesn't feel that way to me.
All these children have been through a lot, but I had trouble connecting with them. And that's weird because both Jude and Addie have very similar experiences to my own. Maybe I'm just too old for this book. It all felt very surface level and a bit too shallow for me.

I received a free copy of Snow Foal, by Susanna Bailey, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Being in foster care is not easy, especially when you do not really understand, why your their. This is an unusual foster home, on a farm that Addie goes to. Addie meets great friends in this book, in human and animal form. This was a good but sad read.

I thought this was a cute little story about coming of age.
This book was so good that I couldn't put it down! I loved it!
I love middle grade books anyway. Always have and the foal made this story extra special.
In a lot of ways I can sympathize with Addie. I enjoyed in getting to know her.
My parents were foster parents for many years and that's why I sort of understood Addie. Lots of children came through our home. Yes, most were like Addie. This story brought back some memories for me.
Addie reminds of one of our boys name Pete. Very heartbreaking. I'd forgotten him until I read this book.
This excellent well written book will pull at your heartstrings for sure and certain!
Animals do have a way of soothing one's soul.
This book has such a cute cover! Love it!
5 stars for bringing back some childhood memories of my own and for a job well done!
My thanks for a copy of this book. I was NOT required to write a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Snow Foal is a beautiful depiction of what it means to truly open your heart and home to children in the foster system. Addie is going through the emotions that every child goes through when their lives are ripped apart through no fault of their own. It's not easy being a foster parent and yes I speak from experience. I enjoyed reading this story of the orphaned foal and precious Addie as she comes to terms with the recent abrupt changes in her life as well as glimpses into Jude and Sunni's as well. You can't possibly begin to understand the magnitude of feelings children go through unless either you've been a foster child yourself and/or witnessed it yourself by being a foster parent, social worker, etc. This was a beautiful story and I'm so glad I read it.

Snow Foal. Read this story. A great story of feelings teenagers have about living in foster families. I as an adult liked the story. A beautiful family story for anyone who loves horses..

An excellent story for middle grade readers, about love and acceptance, foster care, farms and woods, and perseverance inside us all.

I adore Addie.

"But whatever happens, Addie, when things need to be decided, we'll decide them together. That's a promise." (273)

A heart warming book as we find Addie put into a foster care family while her mam gets help. Gabe, Ruth and Sam’s son, finds a foal stuck in the snow and asks Addie for help. She sits with it and he takes food from her. As he starts to get better, Addie and he form a bond. She wants to help him find his mam and takes him to the moor in the middle of the night. Does his mam appear? Addie is told her mam is getting help and that’s she brave. Addie finds that her animal friend, the foal, has helped in more ways than she realized.

this was a good debut novel, as a kid I loved horses so I always am excited to read books about them. This was what I was hoping for. The plot was interesting and did what I was hoping for, it had a great concept and did that really well. The characters felt like real people and I loved the bond between the two of them. Overall this was a great read and I look forward to read more from Susanna Bailey.

"She kept forgetting how to breathe. Her breath felt muddled up in her chest and she had to start counting: in, out, in, out, like they did on the hospital program she used to watch with Mam. Before the telly got taken away."