Petra, Jinny and Mike;

Petra is portrayed as the perfect overachiever who never gets excited about anything whilst diligently practicing her piano music.

Jinny, the over-excitable one who creates a drama about pretty much everything.

Mike, the younger brother who is so chilled out he deserves a medal. He quite often goes along with Jinny’s exploits but is assertive enough to tell her when he has had enough and doesn’t want to get involved.

Jinny is the main protagonist so of course we’re supposed to like her but what about Petra and Mike? Mike is instantly likeable because he is really laid back and just lets all the drama wash over him, he’s the voice of reason without being judgemental.

On the other hand, Petra, Jinny’s older sister gets a bad press as she’s always criticising Jinny. In some ways does she have a point though? Jinny is messy, disorganised and has quite a childish and immature attitude – ok she is a young teenager but she does need a reality check at times. I sometimes feel a bit sorry for Petra as I think she was a bit overlooked. She maybe didn’t want to move to the middle of nowhere and then there’s the time she fails her piano exams and tries to fit in with Jinny and Sue by going on a trekking holiday with them, and Jinny is quite nasty to her about it, although in that I find it a bit hard to believe that Petra can suddenly ride competently having had no real previous experience.

Favourite sibling plotlines:

Mike:

Knows that Jinny had something to do with covering up the theft of the watch in the Summer Riders but doesn’t ask about and just trusts Jinny when she says she will tell him sometime.

Agrees to borrow Jinny’s favourite pony Bramble back from Miss Tuke for him to ride to school instead of the pony he had previously borrowed as they don’t need two ponies as Jinny has Shantih to ride to school

In Jump for the Moon, Mike extensively helps Jinny train for showjumping and borrows books on showjumping to help her build training courses.

Petra:

In Chestnut Gold I hate how she commandeers Jinny’s friend Sue so they can do eye makeup together but if Sue was really interested in hanging around with Jinny that wouldn’t have happened. It seems like Jinny and Sue now have outgrown each other and have different interests. Petra could maybe have been a bit more sensitive about this though.

In Running Wild, Petra is alarmed after seeing Jinny returning home covered in mud after rescuing Shantih from nearly drowning in a bog. After Jinny has washed and rested in bed Petra brings her a tray of food. When Jinny explains to her that Clare Burnley allowed Shantih to run loose on the moor, Petra suggests that Clare Burnley deliberately sabotaged Shantih as she felt threatened.

What do you think about the Finmory siblings?