The Anchor, P. Moore proprietor.

Banks Channel Books (2314 Waverly Drive, Wilmington NC 28403). 204p. c2003. 1-889199-05-2. $12.00. JS

Fifteen-year-old Polly Moore is trying to handle all the responsibilities of her father's tavern in Brunswick, North Carolina. The year is 1764 and things are in turmoil, for the Colonists and for her family. Her dad drinks and gambles away all their money, so his cousin takes him away and puts Polly in charge. Polly has to manage the tavern, her two sisters, and her mother who is pregnant and has taken to her bed. Polly is an independent young woman who believes in the end of slavery and also that women should have a voice in the affairs of government--both unpopular beliefs. Featuring interesting characters in pre-Revolutionary War America, this historical novel will keep YAs reading: Barbara McKee, Libn/Media Dir., Streetsboro H.S., Stow, OH