If Wishes Were Horses is a moving coming-of-age novel that explores the depth of friendship, the hope for redemption, and the heartbreaking choices one must make in a difficult, brutal world. It's 1974, and 16-year-old Star Hennessey is living with three other foster children in a broken-down central New York town. The daughter of an alcoholic prostitute, Star has so far escaped the gritty, painful circumstances of her life through the poems and stories she writes and recites in her head. When she discovers she is pregnant, Star's search for the right course of action brings her face-to-face with the cruel exploitation she fears is her legacy-but culminates in her personal and spiritual triumph. If Wishes Were Horses is a stunning story expertly told by Merry Whiteford, a graceful writer who delves into Star's harsh reality with compassion, hope, and beauty.