On the surface, Stopping to Home seems simple. Two children who have lost their family find a new one. But they do so within the confines of an 1806 Maine seacoast community, and ten months in which they, and the reader, experience life in early 19th century Maine. The heroine, Abbie, is strong and resourceful, and her brother Seth is a delight. Highly recommended.

I'm a lot older than 12, but I loved this book, and shared it with several friends who grew up in Maine, as well as with my grandchildren. The story is moving and credible and has more complexity than meets the eye ... but the beauty is in the background details about early nineteenth century Maine. Layering pine boughs around houses in fall to protect against snows ... high church pews that keep out drafts ... cooking fiddleheads and dandelions in the spring .... I loved this book, and so did my three grandchildren. Although they were amazed at what children of 4 and 11 were expected to do in those days! It inspired some interesting talks about the past. Definitely recommend this book.

Abbie & Seth Chambers are memorable characters who I really enjoyed reading about. They live in a world far from today's, but cope with problems (like figuring out their own futures,) that kids today also struggle with. I've recommended Stopping to Home to lots of my friends!

My son is 12, and not usually an eager reader, but Seaward Born really kept him reading. He said "it was real!" and he loved that the main character not only chose his own destiny -- he chose his own name! Definitely worth checking out.

I read this book with my two grandchildren, ages 8 and ten, and they were fascinated by the story -- and so was I. Author Wait knows her period and her characters, and brings to life the story of a boy who is torn between what he knows and loves, and what the consequences of inaction will be. My grandchildren loved the unhesitating details of what it must have been like to hide in a barrel for days in a ship's hold ... and the chapter on Michael's memories of what his mother had told him of her Middle Passage story are moving and just detailed enough to be fascinating to any age. I would definitely recommend this book
to anyone, of any age -- and certainly to a grandparent wanting to find a way to talk to children about slavery.

I didn't know too much about life in 1806 or slavery, but I really enjoyed reading Michael's story! He had to decide if he wanted to risk his life to try to be free. He had narrow escapes. I really liked the parts where he was escaping, and where he decided to change his name to Noah. I really liked this book!

This isn't a bad book but it's not great either. The heroine, Maggie is uninteresting. The plot is clever but it's carried out in a heavy handed manner. The pacing was slow, and quite dull. By page 13 I had figured out who was going to get killed and which character would be blamed for it. By the 50th page I knew who the killer was. The whole thing seemed horribly dry and stale.

Antiques and an antique show and a cast of shady characters ... what could be more entertaining? Really enjoyed this one ...looking forward to the next in the series!

I just found Shadows at the Fair and am really excited that Shadows on the Coast of Maine has been published, too. Maggie Summer is a great character -- not crazy or silly, although she has a sense of humor. She has a lot of intelligence and spunk, and a sense of what is fair. In Shadows at the Fair she knows it is not fair to accuse Ben of a murder just because he has Down Syndrome, so she goes to bat for him -- and uncovers one of the most unusual -- but credible! -- motives for a serial killer I've ever read. And I loved the information about antiques and antiques shows. Now I'm going to have to visit one -- and look for prints! Right after I read Lea Wait's next book.