Victory (review)

Molly Hibbert had adjusted fairly well to her mother's remarriage two years ago, but when her stepfather, Carl, moves them from England to his home turf in America, Molly begins to suffer a severe case of homesickness. That seems to be why the eleven-year-old becomes fixated on a secondhand book—Life of Nelson—and begins to sense a strange connection with a Sam Robbins, whose name appears written on the inside cover. In alternating chapters, readers hear from Sam himself, who was pressed along with his uncle into service aboard Vice-Admiral Nelson's ship Victory, just in time for the battle of Trafalgar. As the two stories converge, Molly's mother takes her back to England for a visit with her grandparents, and on a sightseeing tour of the Victory with Grandad, Molly is overcome by the intensity of Sam's experience in battle and taken unconscious from the ship. With a little sleuthing on the part of her concerned stepbrother and loving stepfather, Molly learns that there is an underlying reason why she's so powerfully drawn to the book and Sam Robbins, and with the support of her family, she puts her—and Sam's—restless spirits at peace. Cooper moves smoothly between Sam and Molly's tales, blending domestic drama with maritime adventure, and she's equally adept at setting stage in the family kitchen or the orlop deck. It's not always easy to find a novel featuring male and female characters whose concerns merit equal attention; that balance, together with first-rate storytelling, could make this an excellent selection for a classroom novel unit as well as a riveting independent read.