Dark Horses

DEBUT Ruthlessly controlled by her Olympic Medal–winning father both inside the ring and at home, talented 15-year-old rider Roan Montgomery knows that their relationship is inappropriate yet tamps down her dark secret as she aims for the Olympics. Mihalic astutely builds her absorbing debut novel, showing Roan’s father upbraiding her for letting her attention slip or taking a course too fast, then revealing his sexual abuse of Roan in scenes that are increasingly harrowing but never exploitative. Meanwhile, Roan’s wealth-obsessed mother knows what is happening but doesn’t intervene; she’s actually jealous of the relationship between her husband and daughter and soon takes her leave. Roan isn’t supposed to have any involvement with boys, but she starts slipping the noose to meet with sympathetically drawn classmate Will, who faces tragedy of his own. Their burgeoning relationship gives her strength as she finally faces the need to free herself from her father in a narrative that reaches shattering heights.