Collison, Linda. Star-crossed.

COLLISON, Linda. Star-crossed. Random House, Knopf. 408p. bibliog. c2006.0-375-83363-3. $16.95. JS

Sailing in the 18th century, in seas filled with pirates and other enemies, with a heroine who must at times pretend she is a male in order to survive--oddly enough, this has become a familiar story outline. We are reminded of other books, especially the adventures of Louis A. Meyer's heroine in Bloody Jack and its sequels. Star-Crossed is more serious, however; the conditions the sailors face are described in all their horror. The heroine, Patricia, has been raised in a school for young ladies in England, but she dreams of returning to Barbados where her father owned a plantation, so she becomes a stowaway on a ship in order to get to the Caribbean. A sailor, Brian Dalton, discovers her presence and hides her, even teaching her to climb the ropes at night and giving her men's clothing. This is the beginning of the adventures that continue for 400 pages. Patricia becomes the assistant to the ship's surgeon once she is discovered, and later, after his death, she becomes Patrick MacPherson, Surgeon's Mate.

Collison has done her research well: details of life on ship, diseases, injuries and treatments, battles and politics, women who sailed with the men--these details are copious and realistic. This is historical fiction, with endless action, suspense, and romance. Young Alexander Hamilton and his doting mother make an appearance, also based on facts about their lives. Readers come away from Collison's work with an understanding of what it meant to be a woman in those times, and with an experience of living on board a British ship and a fearsome understanding of the deadly diseases like yellow fever, which were prevalent in the Caribbean. Claire Rosser, KLIATT

J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers.

S--Recommended for senior high school students.