Danger in the Harbor

by JoAnn A. Grote

Book Overview

Beth isn't happy. The war with the French is over, but everything in Beth Smith's life has changed. Hardly anyone has much money, and Beth's parents have cut back on buying things she's used to enjoying. Beth's widowed sister, Mary, has moved in and is working at a dressmakers, so Beth has to take care of her three-year-old nephew instead of playing with her friends. But Beth isn't the only one with problems. Most of her friends lost their fathers...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 157748147X
• ISBN13: 9781577481478
• Release Date: December 1998
• Publisher: Barbour Publishing
• Length: 137 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 5.2" x 7.6"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Good historical fiction for young readers.

This is the sixth book in The American Adventure series. This series tells about the lives of children from many generations of a fictional family throughout American history, from the settling of Plymouth by the Pilgrims through the end of World War II. It's 1713, and Queen Anne's War is finally almost over after eleven long years, but for twelve-year-old Beth Smith, her family, and the other residents of Boston, life remains difficult. A fire destroyed much of the town a year and a half ago, and many people have lost their homes and businesses. The Smith family was lucky that their home was not destroyed, but times are still hard, and they do not have as much money as they once did. Life is even harder for Beth's best friend Martha. Her mother was widowed in the war, and is having difficulty supporting Martha and her little brother. Beth resents that she must do chores and care for Robert, her widowed older sister's little son, but she knows her life is easy compared to Martha's. When grain shortages cause riots in Boston, will the peace everyone waited so long for be destroyed? Young readers who enjoy historical fiction set in colonial times, or who enjoyed other books from the American Adventure series, will most likely enjoy this book. It brings to life the everyday life of a young girl in Colonial Boston. I look forward to reading more books from this series. I really like how all the books in this series feature characters from the same family, and make references to events of previous books.