Saddlehill Academy Elite Collection (Boxed Set): Sweet & Bitter Rivals; The Showdown; Falling Hard; Perfect Revenge

I’ve been a fan of Jessica Burkhart since the Canterwood Crest books (am I the target age demographic? No. Am I an adult who loves horse fiction and also nostalgia? Yes) and have been so excited for the latest installment of this series. Jess is a great storyteller and her books always hit right in the “real problems real kids have but in a way that feels fun” way that I love.The elephant in the room: Yeah, there’s lesbians in these books. GASP. I KNOW. HOW DARE LESBIANS EXIST IN BOOKS. HOW DARE WE ACKNOWLEDGE TO KIDS THAT NOT EVERYONE IS THE SAME AS EVERYONE ELSE. HOW DARE YOU BE INCLUSIVE JESS.Seeing sweet, queer love represented in middle grade fiction is important for all the kids out there who are discovering things about themselves that they may not often see in the books geared toward their age group. And there’s nothing in these books that would rile anyone up if their kid read it and the love interest was a boy. These characters are kids. The books are well aware of that. Everything is totally above board and appropriate for the age group.I wish these books had existed when I was a kid, growing up in a world where heterosexuality was the norm to the point that it didn’t even occur to me that there were other options. If they had, maybe I’d have realized I was bi a lot sooner and not just thought my feelings for some of my friends were a weird way of finding them so cool and fun, and squashing those feelings down.If the reader finds issue with characters being gay, that says a lot more about the reader than about the books. Makes me sad that kids won’t be allowed to decide for themselves if these lovely books are for them or not.

I've been dismayed and disappointed to see that in this, the year of our Lord 2024, there are STILL people who want to stick their heads in the sand (and incidentally, their backsides in the air) about the fact that love is love and representation MATTERS. Jessica Burkhart may, on paper, have written another horse girl series in a sea of horse girl books (believe me, I own and have read A LOT of horse girl books), but where others may have been content to write to the status quo, Jessica chooses to write from the heart. She writes characters who you could easily see reflected in real people you (or your child and/or niblings if you happen to be a creaky old Millennial like me) might go to school with, be best friends with, or BE. Yes, the characters in these stories just so happen to be gay. Our lead character is gay, and also kind, smart, and brave. These books are sweet and fun, and important, and I highly recommend them! And hey, publishers, I would love to see more from this series, and definitely more from this author!

The original series, Canterwood Crest, was such an important part of my horsegirl upbringing. If only I could have told myself another series was coming that was even more representative of myself. I highly encourage any young girl that loves horses try these books out. If queer girls can read the series with a male love interest and enjoy it, straight girls can read these books and enjoy them as well!

Super disappointed. This series was super anticipated by my 11 yr old… she loved the Canterwood crest series and could not wait for this. Unfortunately she won’t be reading this since Burkhart felt the need to push the agenda.

It's so refreshing to see an authentic representation of young queer love, especially in equestrian fiction.People arent complaining about spicy seggsy scenes in YA fiction, but a little rainbow crush in a cute horse book and y'all are unhinged? COME ON!Youth need to see themselves in media. To know they are represented and matter.We need more LOVE of ALL colors.

I grew up reading the Canterwood Crest books and genuinely felt safest when one of them was in my arms. The Saddlehill series is different and yet it gives me that same feeling of simple joy and comfort. The little perks of my favorite characters have genuinely felt so healing and yet these feel like they’ve been updated just enough to feel more relevant to young teens today.

I loved Canterwood Crest and so far am loving Saddlehill Academy (give me a break, book four just came out and it's in my mailbox back home). I am so beyond excited to introduce my kiddos to this series as well as CC. I'm so grateful to see some queer rep in traditionally published MG horse books.

Jessica Burkhart always writes compelling books full of compelling characters. These books are so much fun to read, even for adults. I am glad kiddos today have realistic characters who represent a fuller spectrum of identities. I’ll be buying more copies for young ones in my life who enjoy horse books!