Lucia Bartlett

The Donkey Club Lucia Bartlett

Just after Christmas, a very young donkey named Jenny arrives in Foster Lake, Maine, at the Donkey and Mule Rescue run by Dan and Anne Stevens. Their eight-year-old daughter, Olivia, is fascinated by the cowboys who bring Jenny to them--even though she still wishes she could have a dog instead.

Meanwhile, the other residents of Foster Lake have their own troubles. Henry Hobbs and his wife, Jane, are dealing with the loss of their barn and all the antiques that had been stored within. Isolated from the community, they keep to themselves, their dreams destroyed in the fire. The MacPhees--Nigel; his wife, Leah; and their four children--have recently moved there from suburban Boston. It's quite a change, particularly for twelve-year-old Ada, who struggles to make friends. Her eight-year-old sister, Bette, however, is friends with Olivia, and the girls soon learn about Jenny. Now Ada has found a mission for herself--to help out with the Donkey and Mule Rescue. Together the girls form the Donkey Club, intending to help out with the donkeys staying with the Stevenses. But when Bette and Jenny go missing, the whole town must come together to find them.

In this novel, set in northern Maine, a group of young girls form a club to help take care of rescued donkeys and soon find their lives changed forever.