Escape by Sea

Panic spread throughout the city of Carthage as residents heard news of the Romans' imminent attack. Sara and her father Hanno, a wealthy merchant and Senator, had heard the news in the worst possible way, for it came with word that Sara's only brother had died in battle. Despite the chaos, Sara managed to gather a cargo of valuable spices, metals, and coins for trade, and then she got herself and her grief-stricken father on board the Heron, the fastest of Hanno's ships. Their narrow escape from Carthage proved to be just the first of a series of adventures that involved sailing through a raging storm, evading the overwhelming Roman navy, fighting ruthless pirates, and bargaining with shrewd merchants. Throughout these struggles, Sara drew upon her impressive skills in medicine and negotiation at a time when women had virtually no rights. This novel, with its setting in the Mediterranean Sea of ancient times, draws extensively on incentives associated with merchant trade to motivate the plot. Haggling over prices, sailing particular courses depending on supply and demand, and trying to predict changes in the prices of key commodities are all activities involved in Sara's escape by sea. Readers seeking an exciting read with substantive content and strong characters will not be disappointed.

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.) 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!) Genre: Historical fiction, ancient Age Group:YA, ages 12+ Content: None Recommend? Yes