Once on This Island (Paperback)
Staff Reviews
This was the first book I bought at McLean & Eakin. I was 11.
Michigan author, Gloria Whelan, tells the story of a young girl, Mary
O'Shea and what it was like for her living on Mackinac Island shortly
after the war between England and the United States in the summer of
1812. Mary's father joins the army, taking him away from the island and
leaving her to take care of their family farm with her sister,
Angelique. I am a very visual reader, and whenever I am on Mackinac
Island I often wonder what life was like before all of the fudge shops
and bicycles. Whelan does an outstanding job painting a canvas for her
readers and made the book educational as well as fascinating.
From the author of the National Book Award-winning novel Homeless Bird comes a gripping historical novel about a young girl during the British-American War of 1812.
When war erupts between England and America, it brings change and uncertainty, even to Michigan's remote Mackinac Island. For young Mary O'Shea, the hardest change is the departure of her father, who leaves Mackinac to join the American Army. With her sister and brother, Mary must tend the farm, deal with the hardships of British occupation, and hope for the safe return of their father.
With her trademark lyricism, spare prose, and strong young heroine, award-winning author Gloria Whelan has once again taken a chapter from history and transformed it into gripping, accessible historical fiction that is perfect for schools and classrooms, as well as for fans of Ruta Sepetys and Elizabeth Wein.
Gloria Whelan is the bestselling author of many novels for young readers, including Homeless Bird, winner of the National Book Award; Fruitlands: Louisa May Alcott Made Perfect; Angel on the Square; Burying the Sun; Once on This Island, winner of the Great Lakes Book Award; and Return to the Island. She lives in the woods of northern Michigan.