BEYOND THE BRIGHT SEA, by Lauren Wolk

The story: Crow washed up on an island off the coast of Massachusetts when she was a tiny baby, and Osh rescued her. Now that she's twelve, she wonders who her parents were, and why she was abandoned in such a strange way. Could it have something to do with the leper colony just down the coast? Something to do with pirate treasure, or a lost brother? Crow is determined to find out, but little does she realize that someone else is on the trail of these very same clues, but with very different...and evil...intent.

June Cleaver's ratings: Language G; Violence PG; Sexual content G; Nudity G; Substance abuse PG; Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (discrimination against the contagiously ill) PG; overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: I know that critics love Lauren Wolk, and I felt that this story was well-written. However, I don't feel that the average MS reader would pick it up and devour it. I do feel that it's the kind of story that will end up on curriculum lists, because it's the kind of thing teachers love. Wolk's previous book, "Wolf Hollow" was much harder to read and bear, which perhaps makes it much harder to forget. Buy if you have a big bunch of kids who read historical fiction.