The Girl on Evangeline Beach »

Anne Laurel Carter was born in Don Mills, Ontario, in 1953. She left home at 17 to work on a kibbutz in Israel, then in England, France, and California. She returned home at 22 to complete a B.Ed. She taught in Cree communities of N. Quebec until hip dysplasia (the same condition that cripples golden retrievers) forced her to have her right hip rebuilt. It was months before she could walk again! She returned to Toronto to complete a M.Ed, and at 32-years old she got married and started a family.

Michael Denshaw's life is hanging in the balance. After a severe beating by thugs at school, his body is left broken and bleeding on an abandoned set of railroad tracks. As he slips into a coma, Michael's world splits in two and he is given a second chance at life.

He finds himself in Nova Scotia, in a time just before the deportation of the Acadians. There, he meets a beautiful girl named Marie, and begins to fall in love with her. Life seems idyllic, but Michael knows that tragedy looms, for he has encountered Marie before - as a ghost on a lonely stretch of beach back in his own time.

Michael soon learns that his fate is inexplicably entwined with Marie's, and that to save his own life, he must first save hers.

The Girl on Evangeline Beach is a wonderful coming-of-age adventure set against one of the most tragic occurrences in Canadian history.

Children's Literature

The author's first novel finds twelve-year-old Michael Denshaw on a road trip with his grandfather in present day Nova Scotia when he sees what appears to be the ghost of a young girl walking on the beach calling to him. Upon his return home, visions of the girl and an ancient Acadian village cloud his mind and interfere with his schoolwork. When Michael is beaten up and left for dead on the town's railroad tracks, he struggles to live in the present. As he slides into a coma, however, he awakens in 18th century French Acadia, a small town in Nova Scotia on the verge of being stripped of its occupants. Soon after his arrival, Michael meets Marie, the ghost girl on the beach, and is quickly taken into her family. The townspeople believe Michael is a spy from Boston sent to gather information for the English soldiers. Michael finds himself struggling to save his own life as he fights to protect Marie and her family. The juggling of 18th century French and present day English languages gives an authentic feel for the characterization of the individuals. Anne Carter's research draws a vivid picture of life in Grand-Pré, Acadia through the use of intricate details of the area entwined with a believable plot. The author's underlying theme, that family togetherness outweighs possessions, is one that children of all ages will recognize. 2000, Stoddart Kids, $7.95. Ages 10 to 14. Reviewer: Dawn R. Chase