91 books like Hold the Rein Free

Puck is doing all she can to keep her and her brothers together after their parents die from an attack by bloodthirsty waterhorses surrounding their island home of Thisby. I admire how this one fantastical element changes a ‘normal’ life to an ‘otherworldly’ one, and makes the island a strong character in the story. Raising and racing waterhorses is Thisby’s livelihood, and dire circumstances lead to Puck competing for the annual Scorpio Race prize money as the first girl to race, against great odds by riding her beloved island pony. 

I love the feel of the small Thisby and its quaint community of characters. Some are mercenary, some tough, but, like Puck and love-interest Sean, most love the wild nature of the ocean and waterhorses, which is magic to me.

Some books stay with you for a lifetime. Such is the case with Black Beauty for me.

This historical fiction novel (although it wasn’t “Historical” when it was written!”) is considered a classic because of its staying power and message. Anna Sewell’s work inspired the creation of the ASPCA because of the depictions of animal cruelty in the book.

Now, half a century later, it has inspired me to not only write historical fiction horse stories but I also chose to write in first person from the horse’s point of view the way Black Beauty is written.

What’s not to love about a fantasy quest novel with horses as true characters, instead of being mere transportation on that quest!? A girl and a mare head off on an epic journey to reunite the mare with her stolen twin foals, and along the way, they encounter a bunch of strange and unusual characters. The Blue Roan Child was also beautifully written, has powerful imagery of an unusual world, and I love the intertwining themes of trust and friendship. A future classic, maybe?

When Phoebe accidentally rescues unicorn Marigold Heavenly Nostrils from a lifetime of staring at her own loveliness, the two become bonded for life. The graphic novel series gently pokes fun at popular culture as well as its characters’ petty foibles. It’s this generation’s version of Calvin and Hobbes, but with more sparkles and less casual misogyny. 

Rarely does a book that is beautifully written (so much so that I found myself jealous of Nicholas Day’s prose) also give me such a visceral punch in the gut. I don’t mean to suggest that the scenes in Day’s book are beautiful; they are anything but. The story includes the threat of flesh-eating donkeys for crying out loud, but as ridiculous as that might sound, they are truly terrifying. The scenes and events are hard, gritty, violent, and depressing, but somehow, I found them exhilarating. I often buy books to read on my Kindle for economic reasons, but after reading this one, I had to order a physical copy for my library. The setting of GYBTD strikes me as perhaps being appropriate in the universe of Stephen King’s gunslinger in the Dark Tower series (another of my very favorite pieces of literature). Just writing about Grind Your Bones… show more.

Author McDougall took a mistreated donkey—with hooves left untrimmed for so long he could barely walk—restored him to health and trained him to run alongside McDougall in a burro race. The contest had them scaling mountains and fording streams, something the author wasn’t certain Sherman could pull off. McDougall recalls with humor how the donkey gained confidence and developed a faith in humanity as a result.

The narrator is turned into a donkey and undergoes various tribulations before recovering his human form. The only Latin novel to survive complete, it is a unique curiosity shop of diverse treasures: fantastical, comic, bawdy, beautiful, violent, and finally—biggest surprise of all—devoutly religious. "It smells of incense and urine," Flaubert said. Much of the work consists of tales related by the characters whom the donkey comes across, of which the longest is Cupid and Psyche, a fabulously rococo display of exquisite and enchanted storytelling. The virtuoso beauty of the description of Cupid’s wings is unbeatable. "Reader, listen up: you’ll love it," says the narrator at the start. You will. Again, go for Ruden’s translation.

Probably a lesser-known book, Brighty still packs a powerful emotional punch. Similar to Pax, the book speaks movingly about the power of the wild and the value of allowing animals to exist on their terms. In addition to this less, Brighty also tells of the moving bond between a spitfire donkey and a pair of old men working the Grand Canyon. Although he loses his companion, a prospector named Old Timer, early in the book, Brighty never forgets the man’s kindness. He spends the rest of the book, loyal to another man, Jim, seeking justice for Old Timer’s murder. Throughout the book, Brighty never loses the wild inside him and Marguerite Henry does a masterful job of weaving together the themes of loyalty, purpose, and respect for Brighty’s personal integrity. Although mostly considered a children’s book, Brighty is well-worth the read for any adult looking for a story to… show more.

Like Tschiffely’s Ride this is a travel narrative, given heightened interest and amusement by the addition of Modestine the donkey who carried Stevenson’s luggage. Modestine, like all donkeys, was a master at manipulating her inexperienced new owner, but the two forged an understanding that took them nearly 300km through some of France’s wildest landscapes. Written in 1879, this is a fascinating account of a vanished France, beset by religious conflict, where lodging might be found in the corner of a field as well as a flea-ridden inn. The Robert Louis Stevenson Trail is now a popular walking route through the Cevennes. I walked it earlier this year and enjoyed nightly readings from the book.

Not necessarily the world’s first novel (the world’s first novel is probably lost) nor even the world’s first great novel (that would be Petronius’ Satyricon, which you should also not get caught reading), The Golden Ass is definitely the world’s first great novel that has survived through the centuries intact.

It’s the story of a man who tries just one time to dabble in magic and accidentally turns himself into a donkey. The poor guy has a bunch of adventures as he tries to figure out how to, you know, stop being a donkey.

That doesn’t sound so bad, but no one’s ever going to let you read a book with the title The Golden Ass. It just means the golden donkey! There’s nothing filthy about it! But no one will believe you!