I'm not sure how this book came to me - I found it in a pile of books my kids had outgrown, ready to be donated to the library. I decided to pick it up and read it, and I'm glad I did. I haven't read much middle grade, lately, though I used to all the time. I loved it! A young girl begins to think for herself and separate from her parents' beliefs, learning how to stand up for what is right in her own eyes. The setting was rich, and the story was good. ( )

The protagonists struggle with her faith and her father's prejudice hit a little close to home to be honest. Obviously not the 19th century lighthouse keeper part but emotionally this really hit me and the whole thing was very atmospheric and well written. ( )

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I have always enjoyed Susan Fletcher's writing. This is an excellent story of 1800's California. ( )

Narrated by Christina Moore. In 19th century coastal California, Eliza lives with her mother and father at a lgihthouse where she helps her father take charge of the beacon. They live near a town populated by whites and Chinese but there are increasingly hard feelings against the "Celestials" for "taking away jobs" and being "heathens." But when a Chinese boy named Wa Chung saves Eliza from being brought down by a wave she begins to see him and the other Chinese as people, not heathen. She takes issue against the whites driving the Chinese out of town. When it's discovered that Eliza is harboring Wa Chung at the lighthouse the consequence is her father's job and their beloved lifestyle off the mainland. Last chapter where she talks to her new baby brother Andrew John seemed extraneous and pedantic.