The characters were succinctly developed in a short number of pages, 218. If you\'re not a horse person or never had the experience of hanging around a barn, this may not have held your attention. The characters were understandable and consistent with their age, young Henry consumed with running away, Margaret, emotional and unsure of herself, Peter, the Great, and John, thoughtful, but overlooked. The author really let the reader in on the internal workings and the title was descriptive of the mother figure. I wanted to see the father figure, Axel, make contact with his wife, Kate, but it seemed their marriage was more habit than a love affair. Again, I was most impressed with the way the author told a full story in so few pages, there was no filler.