My Friend Flicka

My Friend Flicka is a wonderful fiction novel aimed at junior high students. It is an easy and enjoyable read, but oriented very strongly towards horse lovers. In the context of the novel, there are references to horses and the technicalities of ranch life on every page. As a reader who has a great interest in this subject, these characteristics made the book even more enjoyable to me. I would throw caution to those who aren’t as passionate, though. Aside from the focus of horses, the overall presentation of My Friend Flicka is very appealing. The characters are very relatable and O’Hara gives them all such strong, true feelings a reader can’t help but feel for. The plotline is engaging and compelling, always teasing readers into finishing the page, chapter, or even the entire book before putting it down. The final message readers take out of this story is strong and loving. I enjoyed this book much more than I anticipated. This is definitely a story I would suggest to animal lovers.

This novel is timeless. It was first published in 1940. The author is a master storyteller whose understanding and empathy for children trying to navigate their way through the trouble-some experience of adolescence, is masterful.