Storm Warriors

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Carbone (Stealing Freedom) bases her inspiring and little-known tale on actual rescues made by seven courageous African-Americans during the late 1800s on Pea Island, on the Outer Banks of N.C. The island acted as the base for a division of the United States Life-Saving Service (precursor to the Coast Guard). Twelve-year-old narrator Nathan lives close to the station with his grandfather and widower father, both fishermen who often assist in the rescues. From the outset, Nathan outlines the cause of racial tension between the Pea Island crewmen and the nearby Oregon Inlet crewmen ("Grandpa says they have the same surnames because back before the war the granddaddies and great-granddaddies of the Oregon Inlet crew used to own the granddaddies and great-granddaddies of the Pea Island crew, and they shared their family names with their slaves") and sets the stage for several incidents that discourage the boy's dream of someday joining Pea Island's Life-Saving crew, the only such crew manned by African-Americans. Yet the determined boy pores over books he finds in the station's library, learning about rescue procedures and first aid, proves himself a competent helper in sea rescues and eventually finds his own calling. Though a surfeit of detail occasionally encumbers the story's pace and weakens its impact, Carbone includes some suspenseful descriptions of the rescue crew's feats, and the affecting passages between Nathan and his loving grandfather are the novel's greatest strength. Ages 10-up. (Jan.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.

KLIATT

Nathan is a 14-year-old African American boy who lives on an island in North Carolina in 1895. He lives with his father and grandfather in a small house located near the Pea Island rescue station. The book is based on actual rescue missions of the Pea Island station in the 1890s, and they are included throughout the book. When ships run aground off the coast, this group of men charge out onto the beach and attempt to rescue the sailors on board the sinking ships. Sometimes they shoot a rope out to the boat in distress, other times they have to row small skiffs out and attempt to board the ship, and on one occasion a rescue worker swims out into the choppy water to rescue the sailors one man at a time. Nathan, his father and his grandfather help with the rescues, but they are not actual members of the crew. Nathan wants more than anything to join when he grows up. So does every other African boy near the island. His father does not want him to hope too hard because there are only a few members of the crew and hundreds of people who want to join. It angers the father because there are so many rescue stations, but only one admits African-Americans. This is one of many examples of racism that the book deals with very successfully. Other examples include the doctor who refuses to see African Americans during daytime hours, which leads to the sickness and death of many residents, the unequal funding of the white and African American station houses, the unfair treatment business owners show toward Nathan's father, and the burning of the stationmaster's house by some of the white rescue workers on another island. In the end, Nathan realizes his dreams—but not the dreams he had at the beginning ofthe book. The book deals well with racism and realizing one's dreams. My only criticism is the dialogue. It isn't realistic or historically accurate. The reader doesn't notice after a while because it is a good book that is easy to read, but it is still something that can be irritating for some readers. KLIATT Codes: J—Recommended for junior high school students. 2001, Random House, Dell, Yearling, 168p.,
— Keith Sorenson

VOYA

Twelve-year-old Nathan Williams lives with his fisherman father and grandfather on Pea Island, off the shore of North Carolina. They share the island with the storm warriors, a heroic crew of the United States Lifesaving Service. Nathan watches the only African American crew in the service with admiration and even gets a chance to help in some of the rescues. He dreams of becoming one of them, although Nathan's father expects him to follow in his fisherman footsteps. Being told that only the sons of the current crew can become members of the next crew, Nathan makes it his mission to learn anything any member of the group is willing to teach him, bucking the odds to become one of them. His dreams and hopes are washed away when Nathan is thrown in the middle of a dangerous rescue, as he discovers that he does not have the courage to risk his life as do the real members of the crew. New hopes for a future as a different kind of lifesaver become apparent to Nathan as the book closes. This story, which is based on real people and events, is a fascinating tale of high adventure and will be a favorite with reluctant readers. It also will be enjoyed by those who find books such as The Smugglers (Delacorte, 1999) and The Wreckers (1998/VOYA February 1999) by Iain Lawrence exciting. Nathan's tale will be an excellent purchase for both public and school libraries. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2001, Knopf, $16.95. PLB $18.99. Ages 11 to 15. Reviewer: Bradley Honigsford

School Library Journal

Gr 5-9-It is 1895, and African-Americans Nathan Williams, his father, and grandfather are living on the beautiful and remote Outer Banks. The boy's mother has died, and the grieving youngster finds some solace in the welcoming atmosphere of the Pea Island Life-Saving Station. Members of the all-black lifesaving team, known as surfmen, encourage his curiosity and teach him the techniques of retrieving and resuscitating victims of ocean disasters. After Nathan and his father help with a hair-raising but successful rescue of crew members from a storm-wrecked ship, Nathan is determined to become a surfman himself someday, despite almost overwhelming obstacles. In the end, however, having memorized medical books and assisted with some injured men, he realizes his true calling is medicine. Based on the real-life exploits of Pea Island surfmen in the late 19th century, this is a beautifully told story, marked by convincing, distinctive characters and stirring descriptions of the surfmen's highly skilled and highly dangerous work. An author's note adds fascinating information about how the book came to be written.-Starr E. Smith, Fairfax County Public Library, VA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.