It's 1915, and 12-year-old Avis Dolphin is both excited and nervous to board the Lusitania, since she has heard the rumors that German U-boats are threatening to attack civilian ships. Once on board, however, she is delighted by the luxury liner and quickly befriends professor Ian Holbourn, who angers the captain by advocating for better safety drills, and comforts Avis by telling her tales of Foula, the remote Shetland Island where he lives. Wishinsky draws on the stories of the real Avis Dolphin and Ian Holbourn, two survivors of the sinking of the Lusitania, and incorporates many details from their well-documented accounts. Dawson, meanwhile, illustrates Holbourn's stories in intermittent wordless black-and-white graphic panels, which also narrate the tale of Jill, a young girl who washes ashore on Foula, only to discover a pair of monsters. Though Avis' first-person narrative is occasionally wooden, interest in the sinking of the Lusitania, which marks its centennial, will likely be high this year, and this child's view of the event with eye-catching illustrations is an accessible take on the historic event.

Gr 4-6 When 12-year-old Avis Dolphin alights onto the Lusitania , she asks herself, "Why can't someone write one [adventure story] about a girl? Girls like magic and adventure, too." Indeed, many a girl will identify with this inequity that Wishinsky seeks to address with this illustrated work, a genre-busting fantasy with graphic novel-type images, crossed with a work of historical fiction. The timely book follows the titular character's journey aboard the Lusitania on its ill-fated voyage, along with other historical passengers, such as her romantically obsessed guardians Hilda and Sarah, and the kindly Professor Holbourn, who befriends Avis. Avis is a lively heroine who is excited about every aspect of life on the "Lusy," and relays it all in breathless, excited monologues. Readers will be swept up in Avis's descriptions of the ship mechanics, gourmet food, and people-watching. Professor Holbourn's stories about the mythical past of his home in Scotland are represented in the book as mostly wordless graphic panels, which are lovely, but become repetitive. The biggest issue facing the book is toneWishinsky goes overboard with the foreshadowing, so that the clues to the Lusitania 's fate are almost comical in their exuberance and overabundance, detracting from the mood and underestimating the intelligence of her audience. VERDICT An additional purchase. Susannah Goldstein, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City