On the way to visit their grandfather, 13-year-old Sophie and her cousin Codyrecord their transatlantic crossing aboard "The Wanderer, " a 45-foot sailboatwhich is en route to England. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

Like Creech's Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird, this intimate novel poetically connects journey with self-discovery. When 13-year-old Sophie learns that her three uncles and two male cousins plan to sail across the Atlantic to visit the uncles' father, Bompie, in England, she begs to go along. Despite her mother's protests and the men's misgivings, Sophie joins the "motley" crew of the 45-foot The Wanderer and soon proves herself a worthy sailor. The novel unfolds through travel logs, predominantly penned by Sophie (with intermittent musings from her clownish cousin, Cody) that trace each leg of the eventful voyage; each opens with a handsome woodblock-like print by Diaz (Smoky Night). The teens' insightful observations reveal the frailties of both the boat and its six passengers, whose fears and regrets anchor them down. Sophie, who was adopted just three years ago, proves the most complicated and mysterious of all the characters; her ambivalent feelings about the sea ("The sea, the sea, the sea. It rolled and rolled and called to me... but some said I was too young and the sea was a dangerous temptress...") correlate to a repressed memory of a tragic accident. Stories Sophie tells about Bompie, as well as clever throwaway bits (such as the brothers' given names: Ulysses, Jonah and Moses), temper the novel's more serious undercurrents. Creech once again captures the ebb and flow of a vulnerable teen's emotional life, in this enticing blend of adventure and reflection. Ages 8-12. (Mar.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr 5-9-Thirteen-year-old Sophie, her two cousins, and her three uncles sail across the Atlantic Ocean to England in a 45-foot sailboat, fulfilling the men's lifelong dream. The trip is also a perfect opportunity to visit the ailing patriarch of the family, Bompie, who recently left the U.S. and returned to his birthplace. Sophie conveys her fascination with the sea in journal entries and retells many of Bompie's stories. Cousin Cody, also 13, keeps his own journal and it is through his entries that readers learn that Sophie's view of things is not always reliable and that she does not always tell the truth. Sophie is actually adopted and has never met Bompie. What happened to her birth parents? Why does she pretend her adopted family is her only family? And why does she pretend to know a man she has never met? These questions will keep readers motivated to discover the answers to the girl's secrets. During the journey, the shipmates endure a dangerous storm that reveals truths about each of them and allows Sophie to face the truth. The first-person immediacy and episodic nature of the narratives allow for piecemeal but intimate revelation of character. The story is exciting, funny, and brimming with life. For each crew member, there is a conscious journey to Bompie across the sea, and an unconscious one of self-discovery. This is a beautifully written and imaginatively constructed novel that speaks to the power of survival and the delicacy of grief.-Katie O'Dell, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr. 6-8. Thirteen-year-old Sophie begs her way aboard a sailboat trip from Connecticut to England, accompanied by her adoptive mother's three brothers and two nephews. Along the way, the close relatives endure close quarters, destructive storms, and the fear that they will not make it to shore. Meanwhile, they come to know each other better and respect each other more. Written with grace, subtlety, and wit, the story unfolds as a series of journal entries by Sophie and her cousin Cody. The apparent openness of Sophie's writing, and the fact that the first four chapters offer her point of view alone, leads readers into an acceptance of her narrative truth. In a shift more poignant than ironic, the reader discovers another layer of reality when Cody reflects on aspects of Sophie's life that the uncles won't discuss (the circumstances surrounding her parents' death) and that she doesn't record in her journal (the fact that she was an orphan, adopted into the family only three years before). Little by little, Sophie begins to remember and acknowledge the parts of her past too painful to deal with before. Presented directly, the weight and force of such revelations might have swamped the novel, but here, handled obliquely, they simply lift and carry the whole story further along. David Diaz contributes a series of small ink drawings as handsome chapter headings that add pleasure to this memorable voyage of discovery. (Reviewed April 1, 2000)0060277300Carolyn Phelan From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

I. Preparations
1. The Sea	1
2. Three Sides	3
3. Slow Time	8
4. The Big Baby	12
II. Shakedown
5. Afloat	23
6. Slugs and Bananas	28
7. Wildlife	30
8. The Dolt and the Orphan	34
9. Beheading	38
10. Ahoy	44
11. Juggling	46
12. Blah-blah-blah	51
13. Shakedown	52
14. Bompie and the Car	59
III. The Island
15. Grand Manan	65
16. Stranded	70
17. Tradition	72
18. Bompie and the Train	80
19. Wood Island	87
20. The Little Kid	96
21. The Baptism	100
22. Bompie and the Pastor	106
IV. Under Way
23. Whoosh!	113
24. Oranges and Pizza	119
25. Fired	121
26. Code	124
27. Insurance	126
28. Charlie-Oscar-Delta-Yankee	130
29. Blips	133
30. Knots	144
31. Rosalie	146
32. Bompie and the Swimming Hole	154
33. Life	160
34. Little Kid Nightmares	165
35. The Blue Bopper	168
V. Wind and Waves
36. Bouncing	181
37. Wind	182
38. Howling	184
39. Bobbing	185
40. No Time	188
41. Surfing	189
42. Battling	194
43. Weary	195
44. The Son	196
45. Alone	197
46. Bompie at the Ocean	198
47. Force Ten	201
48. Night	203
49. Spinning	205
50. The Wave	210
51. Limping	216
52. Jumbled	217
53. Bompie and His Father	220
54. Mr. Fix-it	222
55. Wet	224
56. Useful	226
57. Thinking	229
58. Little Kid: Push and Pull	230
59. New Dreams	233
60. Questions	239
VI. Land
61. Ahoy Ahoy	245
62. Land	248
63. Bursting	251
64. New Body	255
65. Push-Pull	257
66. The Visitor	260
67. Phone Calls	262
68. Wales	265
69. The Little Girl	267
70. The Castle	274
71. The Cottage	275
72. Bompie	277
73. The Story	280
74. Apples	286
75. Oh, Rosalie!	290
76. Gifts	294
77. Remembering	299
78. Home	304

Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.