When she was captured from her tribe in Virginia by the new pale-skinned people, led by Sir Francis Drake, Nadie saw her mother burn and her chief killed. Dragged half way across the world to a new life, she should hate every one of her oppressors. But in Plymouth, Nadie meets kindness as well as cruelty. The minister’s wife takes her in and is generous and gentle. And she falls in love with Tom the blacksmith, even though they know she cannot stay in his world. The people who want to settle in the New World know that Nadie must be returned to her tribe if they are to live and trade in peace with her people. So she sets sail with Tom on the doomed expedition of 1586. Because no one’s dreams are destined to come true and most will not survive.

This is the tale of the tragedy of the first settlers in Virginia, who succumbed to the harsh conditions of a country they did not understand. It is a harrowing tale of cruelty and suffering. The story is written from the dual perspective of Tom and Nadie in alternating sections. Like Tanya Landman’s The Goldsmith’s Daughter, it is a story of love across two peoples hostile to one another. A love that can only end in isolation from both peoples. The publishers recommend this book for 13+

2008-08-28