A Pony Promise opens with nine-year-old Tiffany Clark having just learned that she's adopted. Her brother, Tim, dropped the bombshell during an argument, and said he shouldn't have to let her tag along with him because she 'isn't even his real sister.' Geez, kid, what a dick move. Tiffany is crying because her whole world's been turned upside down, and it's finally struck Tim that dropping the news might've been a bad idea. He pleads with Tiffany not to tell their parents that she knows (DUDE THIS IS NOT YOUR DECISION TO MAKE) and Tiffany agrees before running off.
Tiffany goes to the pony farm next door. She goes to visit one of the ponies she'd become particularly attached to: a pretty pinto mare. She climbs through the fence to pat and cuddle the mare, when who comes running over but Mr. Paul, the owner of the farm! He seems pretty cranky about a kid being on his property, but when he sees that Tiffany's crying, he softens up towards her. He recognises Tiffany, and tells her that her mother used to work for him at the farm when she was Tiffany's age. He offers Tiffany the opportunity to help out around the farm, meaning she'll get to spend more time with the ponies. Turns out this seemingly grumpy old man's got a secret heart of gold. Who could've seen that coming? The mare that Tiffany likes, Windy, is due to foal soon, as well as Windy's mother Stormy, who is the daughter of the famous Misty of Chincoteague. Tiffany's obviously excited at the prospect of getting to witness foals being born, and getting to spend more time with Windy. Her parents are initially a bit reluctant to let Tiffany work at the stables, but she manages to convince them.
Now, I was assuming that the adoption storyline would be resolved at the end of the book because it's the main source of tension in the plot. However, it only takes until chapter four for it to be addressed. Tiffany ends up straight-up asking her mother, Susan, if she's adopted, and Susan immediately tells her that it's true. Tim comes clean about telling Tiffany, and Susan is shocked that he realised Tiffany was adopted. She tells the kids that she just assumed Tim - who was four at the time - wouldn't remember, and that he would've been too young to really understand what was happening. Lady, what? Listen, I would understand this response if he'd been one or two, but four-year-olds are fully walking and talking! They REMEMBER things!
Susan tells Tiffany that she'd always wanted a daughter, that she loved Tiffany the moment she saw her, and that Tiffany's birth mother was too young to take care of her. In her mind, Tiffany realises that she expected to feel anger (which would've been a perfectly understandable response in this situation!) but that she isn't angry. Susan asks Tiffany if she knows that she's Tiffany's 'real' mother, and Tiffany agrees, which I think is ... not necessarily the best thing to say!
The rest of the story focuses on Tiffany helping out at the stables. She befriends Mr. Paul's niece, Mandy, and Windy and Stormy end up having their foals. Windy has a colt named Cyclone, and Stormy has a filly named Misty II. Stormy ends up rejecting her foal, and everyone worries if the filly is going to make it. Mr. Paul comes up with a plan to give the foal to Windy to see if she'll raise her alongside Cyclone, and he asks for Tiffany to be present because she has a calming presence on Windy. Susan drives Tiffany over to the stables, and Tiffany is present as Windy is introduced to Misty II. The mare accepts the foal, and Tiffany has a lightbulb realisation that her mother is just like Windy, and that your true family are the people who love and care for you. Tiffany hugs her mother and the story ends.
Overall, I do think the adoption storyline was resolved a bit too easily. It would've been completely understandable for Tiffany to feel anger and resentment towards her parents for keeping such a huge secret from her, or to be more curious about her birth parents, but the story doesn't really delve into that. I know I'm overthinking this, but the conversation between Tiffany and Susan felt like a very parent-centred view of adoption ('I wanted a daughter,' 'I loved you the moment I saw you,' 'I'm your real mother!') as opposed to a child-centred conversation about adoption. I don't know, it just kind of rubbed me the wrong way. Also, given that A Perfect Pony dealt with family violence, and this one explored adoption, I am curious if the author's original pitch was along the lines of, 'Pony books for pre-teens that deal with Serious Issues.' Was there a huge gap in the market for this specific genre or something?
That said, I did like aspects of this story, and I appreciated that the horse-related storyline felt more realistic compared to other books I was reading as a kid. With so many horse girl books having girls tame wild horses, nursing horses back to health from unrecoverable illnesses through the Power of Love, and teenagers riding in the Triple Crown on their wonderhorses*, it was nice to read a book that had quite a simple, realistic storyline. Tiffany doesn't become an expert rider overnight, or magically receive her own horse. She helps out her neighbour's ponies and learns more about herself in the process. I did like that. An author's note at the end of the book explains that the ponies in this book were all real, and that Stormy did reject a foal that was then raised by Windy, so I guess there were some limitations in terms of Tiffany being able to get her own pony in this book. All in all, I'm giving it a 3/5.
* Me? Dropping hints about a series I'll be reviewing in the future? NEVER ;)
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