Rosoff, Meg. The Bride’s Farewell. Penguin, 2010 (reprint). ISBN 978-0452296213 224 pp. $

*****

What if your parents wanted you to marry that nice boy next door? What if you were about the same age, both loved horses, and you’d known each other forever? What if you didn’t love him–and you were better at his job, than he was? Nineteen-year-old Pell opts to become a runaway bride rather than marry a man she doesn’t love, stealing away in the middle of the night with her favorite horse and her mute brother, Bean. They set out for a large, annual fair, where Pell anticipates finding some work, but her dreams are dashed when a con artist makes off with her promised money, and Bean disappears. Pell’s adventures as she seeks her sibling, a home, and a job return lot more than she bargained for in this fairytale-esque read.