________________ CM . . . . Volume VII Number 14 . . . . March 16, 2001

cover The Girl on Evangeline Beach.

Anne Carter.
Toronto, ON: Stoddart Kids, 2000.
257 pp., pbk., $9.95.
ISBN 0-7737-6139-X.

Grades 7 - 9 / Ages 12 - 14.

Review by Betsy Fraser.

*** /4

excerpt:

Michael stared back at her. What if the conductor had spoken the truth and he was in Grand-Pre in 1755? He looked around at the nearest log farmhouse. No concrete or brick, it was all wood, cut by hand. There were no power lines or telephone wires anywhere. If it were true, if she was Acadian and he was English, then he was the enemy.
Sixteen-year-old Michael Denshaw is shocked when he receives a warning from the ghostly apparition of a beautiful girl while on a trip to Grand-Pre with his grandfather. Once back in school, things continue to go downhill: he isn't getting along with his mother, he isn't completing his chores, and he finds words coming out of his mouth in response to questions from a strange substitute about the history of the Acadian people. When the ghost's prediction comes true and Michael is severely attacked by two boys in his class, he finds himself on a train, travelling back to Grand-Pre, Nova Scotia, in 1755. In Grand-Pre, he is given a mission: to warn the Acadian people and save the life of Marie, the lovely young woman whose ghost warned him on the beach and whose future is tied up with the same two thugs that beat him up in the present.

      Carter has written a historical novel that manages to give the flavor of the era and describe the injustices done to the Acadians by the English without ever merely becoming a history lesson. The book will appeal to a wide variety of readers. The plot includes elements of fantasy, history, suspense and romance. Michael is a teen who is trying to deal with his problems, but he never seems to do an adequate job in the eyes of his family. His journey is one that will be easily recognized by young readers.

Recommended.

Betsy Fraser is a librarian with Calgary Public Library.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - March 16, 2001.

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