Tess

What I loved about this book is the author's attention to detail about the times. I followed a young girl's passage from Castle Dunharbar, Scotland to Victoria, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia in the mid-nineteenth century. I was fascinated by what she experienced on her voyage, not only by the people she encountered on the ship, but also with the conditions she endured. Tess is a feisty but lovable protagonist. Her difficulty with following the rules takes the reader on novel adventures, first on ship and then to a place where settlers and tribes like the Songhee and the Haida live side by side. Again, Jocelyn Reekie paints the place so vividly with her words, that you can see what Tess sees as she roams this new land. Highly recommended for both young adults and adults.