Peg Leg Gus

This is the best horse book I have read so far. And I have read a fair amount as an almost lifelong horse lover, rider and owner. I didn’t give it 5 stars because the author made some mistakes. To give you a few examples: a foal doesn’t drink laying down and a white horse like the horse on this cover, is always born black, never white. But other than the few mistakes in this book, it holds a very well rounded story for only being a little over a 100 pages long and it wasn’t at all what I was expecting and I mean that in the best way.

I finished this book in one go and it gave me hours of intense reading enjoyment. I would advise you to have some tissues ready tho when you decide to pick up a copy of this unique book but don’t let that hold you back from reading this gem. It is mostly a story about hope, love and dreams.

Flo is a young girl who regularly takes riding lessons at a stable. We don’t learn anything more about her, only that she likes an unlikable old lame horse called Peg Leg Gus. This book revolves around that horse, a horse with a history of being a World Champion in Show Jumping. Having had, ridden and lost (from old age and not that long ago) a champion in show jumping myself, made this book mean even more to me.

We also get to read about Augustus’ (the horse’s real name) life from when he was a foal until he became a World Champion. But the main thing making this extraordinary, is that he truely believes that he will be able to sprout wings and fly one day. This is woven into everything he does so wonderfully and skillfully. It makes this book feel real and magical at the same time.

The story of Icarus is mentioned and that of Pegasus plays a role in this story that lifts the book up, especially near the end. Kids will love learning about mythology this way.

Flo shows so much patience with old Gus and teaches him what love is. And she’s not only incredibly patient but very inventive and creative, doing so.

I completely forgot to mention the magpie, who plays a wise and magical role as a friend and guide of Augustus, all his life.

Thank you Troubador and NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this book, in exchange for my honest review.

This truly is a book for all ages. I read it and loved it. Then I read a chunk of it to my five year old niece who loved it too. The book is every bit as good as Black Beauty, National Velvet, The Black Stallion and War Horse.
This is what storytelling is all about. It's poignant, sad, life-affirming and full of the joys of discovering a true friend and finding love.
The old horse, the young girl, the magpie, and the retired jockey, are all beautifully drawn characters. The plot is engaging and enchanting. A story full of magic and hope.

I think this was a beautifully done children’s novel about sadness and loss, it dealt with the topic well with interesting characters. I enjoyed the use hope and how they were able to heal each other, between a girl and an old horse. Martin Duffy does a fantastic job in writing this and the characters.

Lovely story about a horse and his dream of flying. Augustus has always felt that he was meant to have wings and fly. He tries all his life to reach this dream but is always disappointed, though with show jumping he comes close. But with age comes more disappointment and when a tragic accident takes him from the ring he becomes tempermental and depressed. Then enters Flo, who sees what Augustus really is.
Loved this story it will stay with me for a while. There was a little sadness but really is a wonderful little story. Loved the magpie as a mentor for Augustus.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. My review is voluntary.