From School Library Journal
Gr 5-7-Set in and around Baltimore and Washington City in 1814, this well-paced mystery will engage readers and perhaps spark interest in the many oddities surrounding the War of 1812. Caroline Dorsey, 13, refuses to believe that her beloved brother Charlie, 14, perished while in service aboard the privateer Liberty. The youth was an excellent swimmer who "loved the sea more than the land" and could not have drowned by simply falling off the deck, despite the claims of the ship's captain. Against her mother's wishes, Caroline begins her own secret investigation. Everyone from the unsavory characters at Baltimore harbor to President James Madison provides information that brings the novel to its exciting climax during the patriotic defense of Fort McHenry. Things get wrapped up a bit too neatly, but the protagonist's resourcefulness and determination make it difficult for readers to begrudge her the happy ending. Though the writing is nowhere near as eloquent as in Avi's The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (Orchard, 1990), this quick read should appeal to a similar audience.
Ronni Krasnow, New York Public Library
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Gr. 4-6. When 13-year-old Caroline Dorsey, growing up in the early nineteenth century, learns of her older brother Charlie's death (he drowned after falling from the deck of a ship that he was working on), she senses that something is wrong. An accomplished swimmer, he should have been able to save himself. The absence of a body further convinces her to investigate. Against her mother's wishes, Caroline enlists the help of indentured servant Sean Foley, and the two travel to Baltimore's waterfront to interview sailors and dockhands. Eventually Caroline and Sean rescue Charlie, but not before being kidnapped by British loyalists during the battle to defend Fort McHenry and the enormous American flag flying above it. Kimball has done a good job weaving setting and historical details into the story. Caroline and Sean are well-developed multidimensional characters, and hints of future romance between them will please middle-grade readers. This is a good choice for fans of historical fiction; pair it with Harriette Gillem Robinet's
Washington City Is Burning (1996) for another view of the period.
Kay WeismanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
