- the life of 12-year-old Maggie’s dog is being threatened–can their combined courage find a way out of the predicament?
- beautiful, unique setting off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada in a 1912 fishermen community
- convo: frequent mention of various superstitions*, 2 girls call another girl a witch a few times (not to her face), guns are mentioned occasionally throughout, an adult agrees with the children that the reverend’s sermons are boring, mentions drinking
- language: x1 L*rd, x2 stupid, x1 speak of the devil
Type: historical fiction chapter book
Ages: 9-14
Author: Joan Hiatt Harlow
*The main girl and her cousin quasi-believe in a cultural superstition involving numbers of birds when they fly by–different numbers meaning different things about to happen (sometimes good things, sometimes bad). Fairly often, this is called rubbish by adults and even countered with biblical responses, though not always (and some of the Christian-esque responses are pretty weak). Secondly, the girl hopes a particular item is magic and lucky even though she knows her ma would call that superstitious foolishness. There are a few other minor instances of related folklore.
A prominent and wealthy family of the small town is manipulative and mean. The father cheats his workers, the daughter spreads lies, and they generally behave unfairly. Their threats add tension and suspense to the story and keep the pages turning! Ultimately (I apologize for the spoiler, but I’m writing this for parents who like to know these things!), they are humbled, apologize, and ask for forgiveness. I thought the author did a really nice job writing this part out. Sometimes, these “turn-abouts” are too brief or shallow feeling–not the case here.
Turns out, this story is based on true happenings but with fictional characters. It begins two months after the Titanic sank. The author also carefully weaves in specific vocabulary commonly used in these particular communities, which makes the prose really unique and enjoyable. You may need/want to look up a few of the unfamiliar words! (More on what’s true is in the Afterword.)
If you think your child is mature enough to distinguish superstitions from reality, they might really love this story. A lovable dog, a girl-cousin friendship, intact families, storms, and a beautiful theme of a community working together…something for every reader here. 🙂 Hope this helps!