From School Library Journal

Grade 7 Up—Cate, 14, is a maid for Queen Elizabeth until her emotions get the best of her. When a romance develops between Cate and Sir Walter Ralegh, the jealous queen declares, "He. Is. Mine" and sends her to the Tower.However, the smooth-talking Ralegh is able to convince the queen that the young woman should be sent to America, thinking that he will eventually join her. Clearly this forbidden relationship doesn't evolve, and Cate's life becomes consumed with surviving in Roanoke with hostile Natives threatening to attack. She enlists the help of Manteo to learn their language and, predictably, a romance grows from that. Chapters containing Ralegh's writings and memorandums alternate with those about Cate and Manteo, who is educated in English and charged with negotiations with the Natives. While the writing is smooth and easy to follow, only true American-history enthusiasts will find this novel interesting enough to read in its entirety. The author's note is helpful in clarifying fact from fiction. Celia Rees's Witch Child (Candlewick, 2001) is a more interesting story about this period in history.—_Jessica Lorentz Smith, Bend Senior High School, OR_
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From

Lady Catherine incurs the queen’s jealousy when the young noblewoman catches the wandering eye of Sir Walter Ralegh. Banished to the Virginia Roanoke colony as a result, Cate first looks forward to adventure and a new start. Nothing can prepare her or her shipmates for the hardship of the ordeal. Expected supplies do not arrive, and the settlement is tossed into survival mode complete with political wrangling, disease, and clashes with the native people. As Cate comes of age, she compares her feelings for the handsome, clever Manteo of Roanoke with the dashing, opportunistic Ralegh. Klein deftly balances the romantic appeal with the grueling reality of survival, the lives of original inhabitants, and factual background of English colonization. In a departure from historic detail, Ralegh, who never visited the colony, sails to Roanoke near the end of the story to try to reclaim his lady. Readers will eagerly await her decision. Grades 7-10. --Anne O'Malley