Beyond the Bright Sea

Author

Lauren Wolk

Publication Date

May 02, 2017

Genre / Grade Band

Fiction / 4^th − 5^th

Language

English

Paperback

Hardcover

Description

Winner of the 2018 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

From the bestselling author of Newbery Honor-winner Wolf Hollow, Beyond the Bright Sea is an acclaimed best book of the year.

An NPR Best Book of the Year - A Parents' Magazine Best Book of the Year - A Booklist Editors' Choice selection - A BookPage Best Book of the Year - A Horn Book Fanfare Selection - A Kirkus Best Book of the Year - A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year - A Charlotte Observer Best Book of the Year - A Southern Living Best Book of the Year - A New York Public Library Best Book of the Year

"The sight of a campfire on a distant island...proves the catalyst for a series of discoveries and events--some poignant, some frightening--that Ms. Wolk unfolds with uncommon grace." -The Wall Street Journal

★ "Crow is a determined and dynamic heroine." --Publishers Weekly

★ "Beautiful, evocative." --Kirkus

The moving story of an orphan, determined to know her own history, who discovers the true meaning of family.

Twelve-year-old Crow has lived her entire life on a tiny, isolated piece of the starkly beautiful Elizabeth Islands in Massachusetts. Abandoned and set adrift in a small boat when she was just hours old, Crow's only companions are Osh, the man who rescued and raised her, and Miss Maggie, their fierce and affectionate neighbor across the sandbar.

Crow has always been curious about the world around her, but it isn't until the night a mysterious fire appears across the water that the unspoken question of her own history forms in her heart. Soon, an unstoppable chain of events is triggered, leading Crow down a path of discovery and danger.

Vivid and heart-wrenching, Lauren Wolk's Beyond the Bright Sea is a gorgeously crafted and tensely paced tale that explores questions of identity, belonging, and the true meaning of family.

Publication date

May 02, 2017

Genre

Fiction

ISBN-13

9781101994856

Lexile Measure

770

Publisher

Dutton Books for Young Readers

BISAC categories

Kirkus

Starred Review

The mysteries--and the words that describe them--are compelling enough to send readers to the islands for years to come. A beautiful, evocative sophomore effort from Newbery honoree Wolk

ALA/Booklist

Starred Review

Wolk has a keen sense for the seaside landscape, skillfully mining the terror the ocean can unleash as a furious nor'easter heightens tension in the novel's climax.

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

Creating mystery and suspense in an unusual setting, Newbery Honora winner Wolk (Wolf Hollow spins an intriguing tale of an orphan determined to find her roots, set in the 1920s. As a baby, Crow was found in a boat washed up on a (fictional) Massachusetts island. Osh, the introverted painter who found her, named her and took her in. Since then, Crow has enjoyed a tranquil existence, except for being ostracized by those who believe she came from nearby Penikese Island, which housed lepers. When Crow, now 12, spots a fire across the water on Penikese, her curiosity is awakened. After persuading Osh and their friend Miss Maggie to investigate, she takes the first step in an emotional quest to discover who her parents were. Crow is a determined and dynamic heroine with a strong intuition, who pieces together the puzzle of her past while making profound realizations about the definition of family. Wolkas economical prose clearly delineates Crowas conflicting emotions and growing awareness, and readers will feel the love and loyalty that she, Osh, and Miss Maggie share. Ages 10a up. Agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (May) Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8--The definition of family and one young girl's struggle to find out who she really is take center stage in Wolk's follow-up to her Newbery Honor book, Wolf Hollow. As long as she can remember, Crow has lived her whole life on the sleepy island of Cuttyhunk, part of the Elizabeth Islands off the coast of Massachusetts. When she was a baby, only days old, a lonely fisherman named Osh found her moored on the rocks after being set adrift in a shabby rowboat. The only place Crow could have safely come from and still survived the boat trip is the neighboring island of Penikese, whose sole occupants were the patients and staff of a leper colony. Many of the townspeople avoid Crow like the plague, assuming that she carries the disease despite exhibiting no physical symptoms. Even though Crow is loved by her adoptive father and their kind and helpful neighbor Miss Maggie, she is determined to discover where she comes from and (hopefully) locate her birth family. Wolk's writing is lyrical and heartrending. Her impeccable research of the area during the 1920s (described in a lengthy author's note) is on full display. Crow, Osh, and Miss Maggie are fully fleshed-out characters who jump off the page. Wolk strikingly conveys the intense feelings of hope and anxiety Crow and Osh experience, respectively, as Crow sets out to track down her birth family. This is a tear-jerking yet ultimately uplifting tale of establishing one's place in the world and realizing that sometimes your family is the one you make, not the one you are born into. VERDICT A stellar story full of heart, action, and emotion that will make readers feel like they are a part of Crow's family.--Christopher Lassen, BookOps: The New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library

Lauren Wolk

Lauren Wolk is an award-winning poet, artist, and author. She is the author of Echo Mountain, Newbery Honor-winner Wolf Hollow, and Scott O'Dell Award-winner Beyond the Bright Sea. Lauren was born in Baltimore and has since lived in California, Rhode Island, Minnesota, Canada, and Ohio. She now lives with her family on Cape Cod.

Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction

Winner 2018

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