Carolyn Phelan (Booklist, Jan. 1, 2001 (Vol. 97, No. 9))
After his mother's death in 1895, Nathan, his father, and his grandfather move to Pea Island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Fishermen by trade, they live near the only rescue station on the coast to be manned by an African American crew of lifesavers. As Nathan gets to know these men, his admiration leads him to aspire to become one of them, though he knows that many boys have the same ambition and few achieve it. Nathan narrates this well-paced story. Exciting scenes of storms, shipwrecks, and rescues are balanced with quieter moments of communication, reflection, and revelation. Nathan's growing awareness of his family's story, from his grandfather's years in slavery to his father's pride in being an independent fisherman, leads him to wonder what the future will bring for him. Carbone does a good job of suggesting not only just the physical setting but also the boy's strong sense of self, family, and community as an African American child growing up in a place and time when racism limited his choices, if not his ambitions. Pair this with Sink or Swim: African-American Lifesavers of the Outer Banks (1999), a nonfiction book describing the U.S. Lifesaving Services crew on Pea Island. Category: Books for Middle Readers--Fiction. 2001, Knopf, $16.95, $18.99. Gr. 4-8.

Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2000 (Vol. 68, No. 23))
The author of "Stealing Freedom "(1998) again runs a strong-minded young person headlong into barriers of custom and racial prejudice. Inspired by the camaraderie and quiet heroism of the life-saving crew, with which he shares North Carolina's lonely Pea Island, Nathan dreams of joining the US Life-Saving Service (a predecessor of the Coast Guard) rather than to be a fisherman like his father. The odds are long--LSS jobs tend to stay within the same local families and in this post-Reconstruction era, the Pea Island crew is the only African-American one on the entire coast. But as Nathan is allowed to take part in life-saving drills, then to watch and even become involved in rescuing the passengers and crews of ships driven onto the area's rocks by storms, his desire only grows. Carbone draws the crew, their techniques, and the shipwrecks straight from historical records, and though her protagonist is fictional, the harsh attitudes he encounters are all too real. In the end, his ex-slave grandfather's wise observation, that "sometimes your dreams show up dressed a little different than you thought they'd be" proves prophetic. Nathan finds that his skill in tending to the injured, and his mastery of the station's first-aid guides, has opened a road to medical school. While every bit as rousing a tale of men against the sea as Donna Hill's "Shipwreck Season "(1998), another tribute to the US Life-Saving Service, Nathan's narrative also creates a vivid picture of his time's harsh racial storms. (afterword) 2001, Knopf, $16.95. Category: Fiction. Ages 11 to 13. © 2000 Kirkus Reviews/VNU eMedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

Marie Salvadore (Parents Guide, Fall 2001 (Vol. 4, No. 1))
Nathan, his father and grandfather move to Pea Island off the North Carolina coast in 1895 after the death of Nathan's mother. Fishermen by trade, they live near the only crew of African American surfmen, "storm warriors," who fought the sea to save sailors. Vivid descriptions of the sea and its storms juxtapose to more reflective moments of growing awareness of self, family and community to create a wellpaced novel told from Nathan's perspective. 2001, Knopf, $16.95. Ages 10 to 12.

Horn Book (The Horn Book Guide, Fall 2001)
Twelve-year-old Nathan is determined to qualify for membership in the Pea Island surfmen, an African-American life-saving team who rescue shipwrecked sailors off the North Carolina coast. His father is reluctant to let him pursue such a dream, and his reasons reflect the racism still pervasive in post-Civil War America. This thoughtfully crafted first-person narrative combines historical figures with created characters in the best traditions of the historical novel. Category: Intermediate Fiction. 2001, Knopf, 169pp, $16.95, $18.99. Ages 9 to 12. Rating: 2: Superior, well above average.

Bradley Honigsford (VOYA, October 2001 (Vol. 24, No. 4))
Twelve-year-old Nathan Williams lives with his fisherman father and grandfather on Pea Island, off the shore of North Carolina. They share the island with the storm warriors, a heroic crew of the United States Lifesaving Service. Nathan watches the only African American crew in the service with admiration and even gets a chance to help in some of the rescues. He dreams of becoming one of them, although Nathan's father expects him to follow in his fisherman footsteps. Being told that only the sons of the current crew can become members of the next crew, Nathan makes it his mission to learn anything any member of the group is willing to teach him, bucking the odds to become one of them. His dreams and hopes are washed away when Nathan is thrown in the middle of a dangerous rescue, as he discovers that he does not have the courage to risk his life as do the real members of the crew. New hopes for a future as a different kind of lifesaver become apparent to Nathan as the book closes. This story, which is based on real people and events, is a fascinating tale of high adventure and will be a favorite with reluctant readers. It also will be enjoyed by those who find books such as The Smugglers (Delacorte, 1999) and The Wreckers (1998/VOYA February 1999) by Iain Lawrence exciting. Nathan's tale will be an excellent purchase for both public and school libraries. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2001, Knopf, $16.95. PLB, $18.99. Ages 11 to 15.