Billowing Sails

Debora M. Coty
Vintage Expressions (2008)
ISBN 9780981559254
Reviewed by Neha N. Kashmiri (age 14) for Reader Views (11/08)


“Billowing Sails” begins with Emma-Lee at a train station to pick up her cousin Lyman. Lyman - or Coot as he wants to be called - is a troublemaker. He constantly annoys and bothers the islanders. But Emma-Lee has other things to occupy her.

Julius is back from jail and has turned a new leaf. Emma-Lee also makes friends with a German family who is hiding something. Captain Stone has taught her to sail and on one of her expeditions she meets a strange woman named Alligator Alice, who makes her living on the gators she is named after. There is also a mystery to solve. Someone is setting fires on the island and the new Deputy is blaming it on the Seminole family that live near Amos. But Emma-Lee knows that they’re innocent. Can she keep the family from the prejudiced people of the island?

“Billowing Sails” by Debora M. Coty is laced with inspirational messages about God, humor and an unlikely but sweet romance. I don’t usually read books like this but “Billowing Sails” has convinced me to explore the genre more - historical fiction for all ages.

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