Hungry, thirsty, and alone, Emma faces the daunting prospect of slow starvation, but survives due to a relationship she builds with a band of chimpanzees. When a fierce storm swamps the ship, Emma desperately seizes her chance to escape, drifting for several days and nights aboard a hatch cover and finally carried to land somewhere on the coast of Africa. Emma finds herself sharing quarters with a crew of filthy, surly, dangerous men. Instead, the ship is the evil, ill-fated Black Lightning, under the command of the notorious Captain Beacon. Disguising herself in her cousin’s used clothes, she sneaks out while the household slumbers and stows away on what she believes to be a ship carrying her parents from England to the warmer climate of France. Sent to live with Aunt Martha and her arrogant son, Odolf, Emma carefully plots her escape.

Determined not to be separated from her seriously ill mother, Emma, 12, embarks on a plan that results in the adventure of a lifetime. 223, etc.) pens a similar story of a girl who goes to sea. Taking a page from Avi’s The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (1990), Kehret (I’m Not Who You Think I Am, p. Set in two coastal English towns and the woods between them, this pleasantly earnest series will appeal especially to fans of golden dragons and human-animal bonding. Like last time, Golding ends this installment with closure rather than suspense, though Kullervo will clearly be back soon. A local political clash (an oil refinery wants a road built through an ancient forest) blends with the Kullervo battle, involving eco-activists and townspeople oblivious to the mythical creatures in their midst.

Kullervo seeks to destroy humankind, but Golding adds a level of complexity through Kullervo’s claim that humans deserve annihilation for polluting the earth. When strict relatives whisk Connie away to another town, forbidding contact with the secret Society for the Protection of Mythical Creatures, evil shapeshifter Kullervo kidnaps Col to lure Connie into danger. Connie’s a “universal” companion to all creatures inaccurately considered fictional (selkies, wood sprites, etc.) her friend Col is companion to pegasi. Epic in structure but gentle in vibe, this series about mythical creatures now shifts from one primary perspective to two.

The Gorgon's Gaze by Julia Golding