Granny's Cove

Six children are at a beach birthday party on San Juan Island, northern Puget Sound, when a freak wave washes them away to a different time. They are in costume, and they end up in their fantasy roles in other island locations. The two “princesses’ wash up in Victoria, the two “pirates” wash up on deserted Sucia Island, and the “cowgirl and Indian” remain on the original beach, but they all find themselves washed back to the mid-1800’s. They try to find each other, find their way home again, and above all, try to do their best to do the right thing no matter what strange things happen to them. They conquer their fears and learn to deal with pirates, war, and bureaucracy with grace and composure.

This is a charming story, in the spirit of Lewis’ Narnia series, and Focus on the Family’s Adventures in Odyssey. There are flavors of J.K. Rowling and Robert Lewis Stevenson, too.

Good character development. They’re well drawn, interesting, and mostly believable. Mark Schwinge