To the Bone by Alena Bruzas

This moving and tragic love story is also a starkly honest look at Colonial America, set during the “Starving Time” in Jamestown.

It’s 1609 at James Fort, and Ellis has recently arrived from England with Henry Collins and his wife, who she serves as their indentured help. To orphaned Ellis, James Fort is an opportunity – a fresh start in a new world. And now that she has fallen for the bold and glorious Jane Eddowes, she feels even more hopeful about her future. Foolishly hopeful, for soon she comes to understand the horrible realities of her home: the crimes that her fellow settlers have committed against the Native Americans there, the terrible shortage of food they are facing as winter draws near, and the cruelty of her employer, both to her and to his pregnant wife. Ellis will call upon all her fortitude, but will it be enough? Gripping, shocking, and exquisitely told, this is crucial U.S. history seen through the eyes of an extraordinary fictional teenager.