This is an adorable piece of magical realism about a girl named Emmaline May, who sees winged horses in the mirrors of Briar Hall, the mansion-turned-hospital where she lives. She has what she calls the "stillwaters" (what we would today call tuberculosis) and lives with other kids that have the same during WWII. There are nuns there trying to keep the children alive and happy, and a one-armed man named Jack who is a caretaker. Em's closest friend is a girl named Anna, who is also the most ill. She lies in bed all the time. One day, Em finds one of the winged horses hiding in the garden and finds a note from the Horse Lord asking her to take care of it.

I think the beauty of this story is that you can choose to read it two different ways--you can give into the magic or stay with the mundane. I really enjoyed it, and think that it's a great story for horse lovers young and old.