Elizabeth Barker is only nine years old when she and her parents leave Plymouth, England. They set sail with nine shiploads of other people, headed for a small colony in America --- Jamestown, Virginia. They have high hopes for a wonderful life in this brand new country, where they can own their own land and build their own house. Elizabeth misses her twin brother Caleb, who had to stay in England because of his weak lungs, so she keeps a journal for him, to tell him what their first months are like in this strange, beautiful country.

The journey itself is very difficult. They lose five of their nine ships at sea in a terrible hurricane. They don't know whether the ships got blown off course, or if they sank in the storm. One of the ships carried their food. But when they arrive in Jamestown, Elizabeth is excited. She and Jessie, another girl her same age, become good friends. They explore the forest, splash in the river, and go fishing for clams and crabs. They see a raccoon and think it's a monkey! They sleep under the stars in a lean-to while their fathers build their houses. Elizabeth's father lets her help him; she gets to climb up on the roof and thatch it. And she and Jessie meet an Indian girl named Pocahontas, who becomes their friend. Elizabeth even gets to go with Captain John Smith to the Indians' camp.

But amid the excitement of a new land, the colonists endure many hardships. Jamestown was built in a wet, humid marsh. The heat is terrible. Mosquitoes spread the "summer sickness," and many people die, including Jessie's mother. It reaches a point where at least two people die every day. They bury them at night so the Indians won't know how their numbers are dwindling. Rats that disembarked from the ships destroy the food in their storehouse. Eventually two of the ships thought lost in the storm make it to land. Elizabeth meets three new friends from these ships, but they also become very ill. Elizabeth's mother is going to have a baby, and Elizabeth is afraid that she might die in childbirth like some of the other women and their newborn babies.

Along with the problems they encounter in their new country, the colonists bring some problems with them from England. Some of the men think that they are gentlemen --- and therefore too good to work. They kidnap and enslave the Indians to do their work for them. They also steal food from the Indians. The Indians, who were at first friendly and helpful, begin to fight back and kill the colonists.

Finally, in the autumn, Captain John Smith is seriously injured, and he must return to England. He takes some of the colonists back with him. The rest will stay in Jamestown for the winter. What will Elizabeth and her parents do? More colonists will come in the spring. Will the ones who stay through the winter still be alive? Will Elizabeth see her twin brother again? Will her mother and the new baby be all right? You will want to read this interesting and exciting book to learn what life was like for the first settlers who came to America to live.

   --- Reviewed by Tamara Penny