Riding On Air

For readers of Jenny Downham, John Greene and Maureen McCarthy, a poignant young adult romance about following your dreams and realising what really matters. What can you do when your own hands are the enemy? Hold on tight, for as long as it takes. Melissa has secrets. Sure it's pretty obvious she has Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis, but no one knows how bad it is or how many pills she takes for the pain. She's determined to make her horse Jinx into a champion and she dreams that her childhood friend William will one day see her, rather than her condition. So when William asks her out and Jinx is shortlisted for selection in an elite training program, it seems Melissa's dreams have come true. But when her secrets are exposed, all those dreams come crashing down around her. Can William ever forgive her? And can she learn about letting go in time to truly ride on air when it matters most?

Maggie Gilbert has been an executive editor, an equestrian journalist and worked with horses for the Modern Pentathlon event at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Currently she’s an administration officer with an Agricultural Society by day and a writer of romantic rural stories by night – an ideal combination. Riding on Air is her debut novel.