Song of the Current by Sarah Tolcser (review)

When her father is arrested for smuggling, seventeen-year-old Caroline Oresteia must take the tiller of her family's wherry to deliver a mysterious cargo in return for her father's freedom. Caro opens the forbidden crate and awakens a boy in an enchanted sleep, who claims to work for the recently murdered Emparch of Akhaia; though she figures out quickly that he's lying about his identity, she doesn't guess that he is in fact Markos Andela, the only surviving son of the Emparch. The two take an immediate dislike to each other, and their transition from mutual hostility to respect and eventually to romance is predictable but handled with care and humor; Caro doesn't lose any of her competence or confidence in their relationship. Caro's distinctive, engaging voice plunges readers into the action and doesn't let up as the two flee privateers, spies, and a traitorous royal shadowman. The Mediterranean and North African–inspired setting is a refreshing change from more typical fantasy settings, and Kristin Cashore's heroines (Graceling, BCCB 1/09, etc.) find a worthy sister in Caro; readers will eagerly await her further adventures in the hinted-at sequel.