This coming-of-age adventure that starts in ancient Carthage provides fascinating details about what life was like then on the Mediterranean and raises questions about tolerance, morality, and diversity.
- ISBN: 9780823422173
- Author: Lawrence, L. S.
- Published: 2009, Holiday House
- Themes: Ancient Civilizations, Courage, Rome, Survival, War
- Descriptors: England (UK), Historical Fiction, Intermediate (ages 9-14)
- No. of pages: 195
Contrary to conventional wisdom, Escape by Sea, is a book that can be judged by its cover. Every time that I picked up this book I studied the dust jacket with its evocative image of a young woman staring out at the darkening horizon over the Mediterranean Sea.
Set at the end of the second Punic War (218-201 BC), this historical fiction novel focuses upon the survival of fifteen-year-old Sara whose father is a wealthy merchant and Senator in the city of Carthage. Sara and her father are forced to flee their home upon receiving the news of her brother’s death in battle and the immediate danger of a Roman invasion.
Sara and her father encounter life-threatening perils that include a storm and battles with pirates and Roman soldiers. One battle results in Sara’s saving the life of a wounded soldier who is spared from being killed because of his potential value as a hostage. These events are the first of several that lead Sara to facing a trial in a Roman court of justice.
This book offers opportunities for discussions of ancient history, wars and Sara’s survival of the loss of her family. This maritime adventure is an excellent story that leaves readers pondering the possibilies of Sara’s future.