Graveyard of the Sea
Coteau Books / 8 January 2009

Graveyard of the Sea by Penny Draper Published by Coteau Books for Kids Review by Karen Lawson $8.95 ISBN 978-1-55050-3975 Author Penny Draper has set her latest young adult novel, Graveyard of the Sea on Vancouver Island in the year 1906. This historical piece of fiction is the fourth book in the Disaster Strikes! Series and focuses on what life was like as a lighthouse keeper. This was a time before technology and there was just the keeper and his lamp to watch and warn the ships that sailed the often dangerous and rough seas in this part of Canada. The author tells a story about a real heroine by the name of Minnie Patterson. Minnie is a lighthouse keeper who was instrumental is saving those aboard a doomed ship that ran aground. Because this novel is based on true facts and actual people, the author has created a fictional character by the name of Nell and uses her to tell the reader about what it is like to live in a lighthouse as well as to share Minnie’s tale. Nell is a unique little girl who lives a very unusual and isolated life. She lives with her lighthouse keeper…