Reviews

Gr 5-7-- In 1629 the Batavia , a Dutch East India Company ship, was wrecked on the Abrolhos Islands off the coast of Western Australia. Before the survivors could be rescued, more than 120 passengers were murdered during a bloody mutiny. This historic fact is the basis for a well-written time travel and coming-of-age story. Julie Dykstra, 15, is bored with vacationing on her father's yacht. One night, she takes off in the dinghy to explore an island on which she thinks she has seen someone hiding. Exhausted by the effort, she falls asleep, awakening to find herself in another time facing a nightmare. Of course, Julie eventually returns to her own time, wiser and more tolerant of her family. She also learns that contemporary life may not be as unfair or harsh as it had been for teenagers in another era. The book begins slowly but swells to a frenzied pace as Julie and Dirk, the carpenter's apprentice who befriends her, lead the Batavia 's survivors in a final battle to best the mutineers. Readers looking for something a bit more intricate than the average novel will be pleased. --Jeanette Larson, Mesquite Public Library, TX