(4) 4-6 In a companion novel to Shadows on the Sea, fifteen-year old American Wendy Dekker struggles to adjust to life in Nazi Germany, where she's brought by her Nazi-spy mother. Navigating her way through a tense Berlin, Wendy struggles to come to terms with injustices around her. Despite some awkward plot points and over-explanatory sections, Wendy's earnest voice is compelling. Historical afterword appended.

Reviewer: Kristy Pasquariello

(4) 4-6 Chicago is about to be engulfed by the Great Fire of 1871. After befriending Justin, a jeweler's son, orphan (and pickpocket) Poppy finds herself caught not only in the fire's path but also between two families with very different motives. Though the voices don't always ring true, Harlow's shifting perspective between Poppy and Justin helps illuminate diverse experiences and consequences of the disaster.

Reviewer: Nancy Hull

(4) 4-6 Jessie Wheller and her family rescue three shipwrecked men during a storm off the Newfoundland coast. Through her new friendship with the survivors, Jessie eventually helps an abused orphan, saves a herd of ponies destined for the slaughterhouse, and reconciles with her stern grandmother. The plot is loosely structured, but warmth and sentiment hold the tale together.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(2) 4-6 Just after orphan Tom, thirteen, comes to live with a couple on a small island off Newfoundland in 1929, he rescues a dog that's swimming in the sea. In addition to a vividly realized setting and a goodly salting of local terms, Harlow holds attention by giving Tom and his dog numerous opportunities for heroism in this companion to Star of the Storm.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2004

(4) 4-6 After losing his father to influenza, privileged thirteen-year-old Joshua Harper is forced to quit school and start selling newspapers on the street. Then Boston's Great Molasses Flood of 1919 compels Joshua to find courage, as well as his new inner voice. Although it relies too heavily on contrivances and easily resolved conflicts to advance the plot, the story enlightens a forgotten chapter of Boston history.

Reviewer: Emma Loy-Santelli

(2) 4-6 Maggie, twelve, adores her family's Newfoundland dog, but Sirius is in danger. He's not a herding dog, and a new law decrees that only sheepdogs are allowed on the island. In this old-fashioned story with many subplots, it's not realistic that everything works out; still, the many threads are woven neatly together in this fast-moving story set in Newfoundland in the early 1900s. Maggie is a likable protagonist, and dog lovers will revel in the many exploits of the gentle giant she loves.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2000