The Seekers [Library Binding]

Eilis Dillon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1986

Sixteen-year-old Edward sails with friends from England to the New World in 1632 and joins the colony founded by the Pilgrims at Plymouth, discovering the perils and hardships of colonial life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this smoothly written historical novel, the author departs from her usual settings in Ireland and Italy to trace the journey of five Yorkshire villagers to the New World. Life in Plymouth Colony in 1632 will be a familiar subject, but this account is fresh in its limpid style and in showing two unadventurous teens: Edward, who tells the story, and Rebecca, whom he loves. The middle-aged members of the party exhibit the true colonial spirit, changing in surprising and positive ways. Though the story lacks a strong emotional focus (tEdward and Rebecca's love affair grows curiously placid), it provides a convincing, engaging portrait of the period. Miles Standish and others appear in cameo roles.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10 In 1632, lovestruck Edward Deane leaves Yorkshire, England, his family, and his livelihood as a shepherd to follow beloved Rebecca, her aunt and her n'er-do-well father to America. Edward's departure from home is secretive; the voyage on The Swallow is at times stormy and debilitating; his glimpse of life in New Plymouth persuades him that there's no place like home. Although passion supposedly drives Edward after Rebecca, the account of his journey is a passionless, lackluster chronicle of people and places. Edward's first-person narration gives a sense of immediacy to setting and events, but characters and relationships seem inconsequential, and the story never builds to a climax. Historical tidbits and descriptions are presented throughout the novel, but Dillon fails to convey the excitement and anxiety of leaving home, crossing a forbidding ocean and beginning life in the New World. Edward's observations of sickness aboard ship, the hardships of daily colonial life and the strict religious practices of the colonists lack poignancy and tension. After one winter in New Plymouth, he announces that he and Rebecca are returning to England. Their decision is neither traumatic nor ironic nor climactic. Although junior high readers will have no trouble with the text, they will need the pressure of an assignment on early America to seek out this novel. In contrast, Patricia Clapp's Constance: a Story of Early Plymouth (Lothrop, 1968), is a much more compelling account, tracing almost identical events and imbuing historical people and places with a spirit and vitality of their own. Gerry Larson, Chewning Junior High School, Durham, N.C.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Library Binding: 136 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum (April 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684185954
• ISBN-13: 978-0684185958
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,295,937 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Seekers Reveiw, February 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Seekers (Paperback)

The Seekers

I rate this book five stars. I liked this book because it kept me wanting to read it, it was very suspenseful. I also liked it because it was like a love story and I like love stories. This was a very unique book. Not many books have the same theme as The Seekers, but one book I know is Titanic, the Long Night. It was a love story and a journey to the New World, which then was called New York. This story was very different form others I have read. I like that, it means that it doesn't copy other themes and has a mind of it's own. IT has a plot whish will make you want to read it over and over again. It is not only fictional, but historical too. It talks about the hardships that the people on the journey have to the New World and what they had to face when they got there. I recommend this book to anyone who loves romantic and adventure stories. It will make you want t read it, not like those fake books that are not suspenseful. It's short but very adventurous. I had fun reading it. This book makes you think how committed you are to your love ones. The people in this book care about each other very much, for example Edward is so committed to his love one Rebecca, that he goes all the way to the New World just to be with her. But also there is men in the story who loves adventure, but also can be caring. This book should be read, I recommend it.