I read some wonderful books this weekend.

I finished Out of the Valley of Horses by Wendy Orr, a middle grade book from Pajama Press.

“On a journey to find safety from a spreading illness, Honey’s family stumbles into a mysterious valley filled with extraordinary horses. For seven peaceful years, Honey’s family is trapped in their own paradise, but when danger looms, Honey knows she must fine a way to escape the valley to save the ones she loves.”

I found the book completely magical. A family, grieving the loss of a loved one, hops in their converted ice cream van to outrun their loss as well as an illness that is spreading fast. They cross a bridge, which disappears, closing them into a beautiful valley with horses that teach them about the new world around them.

The book was beautiful, but also sad. As the book progressed, we read text messages from Honey’s extended family who has spent seven years trying to find their relatives. While the book couldn’t have ended any other way, there is sadness in that as well.

After I finished reading Out of the Valley of Horses, I realized I had another book from the Canadian-born author who lives in Australia.

The Swallow’s Dance was equally wonderful but so different from Out of the Valley or Horses, both in content and the way it was written. While Out of the Valley of Horses was magical, Swallow’s Dance was historical fiction presented in both story form and singing as the characters prayed to the goddess in song (or greeted the day by singing).

In the author’s note, Orr talked about a Bronze Age civilization that was around 4,000 years ago near Crete on an island called Thera, known now as Santorini.

“In 1625 BCE, Thera experienced one of the greatest volcanic eruptions in human history.”

Recent archaeological finds should two- and three-storey house painted with frescoes.

“The more I studied this civilization, the more intrigued I became by one of the frescoes – a painting of girls in ceremonial dress picking crocus on a mountain. The girls are so individual that I became convinced they were portraits of real people.”

The book focusses on one of those girls in the paintings and what would happen if a girl from an upper class had to flee her home and become a refugee in another land.

Orr did a great job of answering that question through this wonderful story about a girl who was just starting her journey as a priestess when her world collapses and the “status and privilege of being noble born are reduced to nothing. With only her injured mother and elderly nurse, Leira has only the strength and resourcefulness within herself to find safety.”

Both books are from Pajama Press and are for those 10 to 14. Out of the Valley of Horses retails for $23.95. Swallow’s Dance retails for $21.95.

A copy of these books were provided by Pajama Press for an honest review. My opinions are my own.