Nothing Else Matters

A boy nobody can reach. A horse nobody can tame. One last chance to trust.

Fourteen-year-old Milo has spent his whole life being told he’s the problem. For three years, Milo has been moved from one placement to another, carrying an anger he can control only by turning chaos into numbers. By the time he arrives at Harmony Ranch, he already knows how this story ends: badly. He wants nothing to do with the horses, the countryside or his new foster family. Then, on his very first afternoon, Max knocks him flat in the yard. Everyone else has given up on the colt. Milo recognises him instantly.

Max is as angry, frightened and impossible to reach as Milo is. Earning the colt’s trust draws Milo into a world of firsts: a first ride, a first friendship, a first kiss — and, most frightening of all, a family that might not give up on him.

• Horses as a language of trust — rooted in the author’s own experience in the saddle, Milo’s bond with Max mirrors his journey from anger and defensiveness to connection, boundaries and mutual trust.
• A layered coming-of-age journey — friendship, first love, a competitive new foster sister and a climactic social gymkhana come together in an emotionally satisfying story about finding the courage to stay and be loved.