Belladonna — Mary Finn

When Thomas Rose first spots the girl concealed in a ditch outside his rural village, she looks as drab as a lark, blending with the English countryside. Only her bright-red kerchief gives her away. Yet French Hélène, who goes by "Ling" ?- ?for the year is 1757, and England and France are at war? -- ? is no ordinary bird. She is tiny and agile, with huge dark eyes and hair as black as plums. Ling enchants Thomas with tales of the circus, where she danced atop Belladonna, a pure-white horse with a tail the color of barley. But the leader of the troupe has sold Belladonna, and as Ling and Thomas set out to find her and fetch her back ? -- ? with help from a mysterious painter and anatomist? -- ? Thomas knows that his simple life, that of a clever but unschooled wheelwright's son, is about to change forever.

Acclaimed author Mary Finn has crafted a lyrical coming-of-age story about a boy, a girl, and a horse? -- ? and about how a chance encounter c