Ann L Messecar

An Ocean Between Ann L Messecar

Sometimes life surprises us with a different path than the one we expect... Worn-torn Bavaria. 1646. When 15-year-old Lysbeth Michielsen makes a terrible mistake that puts her brother in danger, she has no idea how far she'll go to fix it. Her perilous escape takes her to the city of Amsterdam, across the stormy Atlantic, and through the beautiful but deadly Caribbean. A determined Lysbeth may dream of becoming refined and educated, but that doesn't stop the farm girl from brawling with street urchins or dressing like a cabin boy to protect the people she loves. After a handsome soldier joins the voyage, Lysbeth finds herself involved in dangerous complications. Will the young man return her youthful affections before they part ways, or will fatal fevers and treacherous villains keep them from even completing their voyage? As they sail toward New Amsterdam with Petrus Stuyvesant, last Dutch director of New Netherland, Lysbeth finds some unlikely allies in Stuyvesant's powerful sister and a scheming widow. But with the journey's end looming on the horizon, time is running out. An Ocean Between is a 17th century adventure with a dash of romance for young teens and the young at heart.