Readers' Choice Best Book Awards 2023 Gold Metal Winner!
Based on true events
In this true story, nine-year-old Etienne flees 1660 France with his family to avoid arrest for religious heresy. They face robbers, pirates, two perilous sea voyages, and an uncertain future to chart a new destiny.
In October 1660, Etienne Gayneau rushes through the cobblestone streets of La Rochelle, France, to meet his cousin at the harbor. A ship carrying King Louis XIV's elite musketeers is docking. He dreams of becoming one himself but he has no idea that their arrival will force his Huguenot family to flee in the dead of night. His cousin has offered him a safe haven. Now he must choose - stay and pursue his dream or leave and face an uncertain destiny. Both choices are fraught with dangers. Either way his life will never be the same.
Etienne is an insecure boy who is teased by his peers. He struggles against following his father into the stove-making trade and dreams of becoming a musketeer. But outside events shatter his known world as religious conflicts force his family to flee La Rochelle and the only home he has ever known. They arrive in Amsterdam to face a new set of problems. Etienne must work to help save his family. But just as Etienne is adjusting to his new life the family leaves abruptly again, this time for the New World. By the end of the book, Etienne has developed the self-confidence to face the various challenges that arise. He has also learned to forgive himself and others.
Sale
