Robbie Coburn, The Foal in the Wire, Lothian Children’s Books, May 2025, 121 pp., RRP $19.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780734423603
We will never know how he found himself that way, wounded, trapped and alone. He won’t survive without us. Maybe we were all waiting to find each other.
Sam and Julia are teenagers, living on neighbouring farms. When they discover a foal caught on barbed wire between their properties, they decide to join forces and care for him, hidden from their parents. Farm life is brutal and resources scarce; they both know their parents would put the animal out of its misery. As they spend time together nursing the foal, they begin to share their heartbreaking stories and to fall in love.
Robbie Coburn uses verse to tell this bravely honest story of a boy and a girl who have both know tragedy and heartache. Although the text is deceivingly simple, this book deals with family violence, bullying, suicidal thoughts and despair. It also, quite beautifully, tells of their first sexual experience, so is not recommended for younger readers.
However, the book is not without hope: Maybe scars can heal if we give them a chance to, and survival is possible if we aren’t alone.
This verse novel will appeal to sensitive, older readers aged from 14+.
Bookclub notes and a Q and A with the author can be found on the publisher’s website.
Reviewed by Heather Gallagher
