Escape by Sea by L.S. Lawrence

-from bookjacket

Sara lives a privileged but sheltered life as a senator's daughter in Carthage her home on the North African coast. But in horrific afternoon, everything changes. With his last breath, a soldier tells Sara that her only brother is dead and that the Romans will attack Carthage within the hour. Fleeing for their lives, Sara and her father hastily gather a cargo to trade across the sea; but no sooner have they left the African coast than they face a tempest, pirates, vengeful merchantes, and the Roman navy itself. 

Then a devastating turn of events leaves Sara alone, wondering whom she can trust. Returning to Africa is no longer an option, yet Sara has no destination in sight. With danger constantly at her back, she must rely on her own wit to survive in a man's world and lead her ship to freedom. 

This coming-of-age adventure that starts in ancient Carthage provides fascinating details about what life was like then on the Mediterranean and raises questions about tolerance, morality, and diversity. 

There aren't very many books for teens/kids about ancient Rome, Greece, Gaul [Germany] so when I saw this book I was actually quite excited. Escape by Sea was a fairly good peek into the past, but there was hardly any plotline and then when it was getting really good..... it just ended. Most of the book took place at sea and most of the characters thoughts and actions were about either defending the ship or trying to figure out the where they were going. The book was written in third person and Sara's character seemed lacked personal emotions, so I couldn't really connect with her or the characters. One thing that annoyed me the most was that inside of saying "Sara's father_____" it said his full title and name; thus I mixed up the characters a lot. Towards the end of book it got pretty good and I started to get the feel of the ancient seas and even imaged what the Roman soldiers looked like. (Plus it helped that I watched B.C. Battles on the History Channel.) RANDOM THOUGHTS HERE: I love the History Channel. I watched the ancient roman Battle for Marathon (hence the modern word to run a marathon) and the Battle of Troy. I also watched these neat western re-caps. 

Now back to the review: Not bad for a first novel. I'll give it a B- for first attempt at a historical fiction. HF is tuff to write, maybe Lawrence's next book will be better. (And if he does I will most likely read it) If you like stuff about sea voyages and adventures this is probably a nice light read for you! 

(PS. The cover is so neat!)

Pages: 188   Year Published: 2009    Genre: Historical fiction, ancient

Age Group: YA, girls ages 12+           Recommend? Yes

Classroom Use? Most defiantly

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