Freedom beyond the sea. (Paperback Fiction).

LEWIN, Waldtraut. Freedom beyond the sea. Random House, Laurel-Leaf. 262p. c2001. 0-440-22868-9. $5.50.

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A contemporary German children's author thematizes the historical debate about whether Christopher Columbus was Jewish. Certainly, the Spain of 1492 would have been a deadly place to Esther Marchadi, so she disguises herself as a poor boy and gets aboard the Santa Maria as its lowest form of human life, a grummet--a boy gopher. Because she is educated--and, Lewin characterizes, because Columbus himself is sensitive to the need for Conversos and Marranos who need to take to sea-Esther, as Pedro, becomes the admiral's secretary. She is conflicted about hiding her religious identity from him and, as the days go on, wonders if he has guessed her true gender as well.

Unlike L. A. Meyer's Bloody Jack (Harcourt, 2002). Esther/Pedro's story is without comic relief. But it does ring credible and offers young readers an accessible take on an historical controversy, as well as an accurate snapshot of life at sea in the 15th century. The writing is smooth and, for a thrifty price, this is a competent way to introduce middle school readers to the topics of ethnic identity, gender issues, historical fiction's use of facts, and YA fiction in translation. Francisca Goldsmith, Teen Svcs., Berkeley RL., Berkeley, CA