ROSE ALONE

An Acadian refugee in Colonial New York struggles to regain her family and freedom in DeCosse’s plangent YA historical novel.

This tale re-creates the 1755 expulsion of French-speaking Acadians from their Nova Scotia villages by British Gov. Charles Lawrence, who suspected them of supporting French troops in the French and Indian War. The narrative follows teenage Rose from when British soldiers force her and her family onto a ship. She endures a nightmarish, weekslong voyage, eating stale bread and maggot-ridden pork in an overcrowded hold where disease is spreading. In the chaos, her mother, Cécile; sister, Madeleine; and boyfriend, André, are swept onto a different ship bound for parts unknown. Further tragedy ensues, and in New York, Rose is separated from the rest of her family and sent to Long Island, where she’s sold as an indentured servant to a weaver named Jonas and his sickly, pregnant wife, Abigail. Speaking little English, Rose weathers exhausting chores and xenophobia. However, she finds unexpected kindness from strangers, including handsome carpenter Nate. Rose finally gets a chance to find her loved ones, but she must reckon with a solemn promise she made and consider a tempting proposal. Over the course of this novel, DeCosse effectively steeps readers in colorful period details, from the daily ordeal of grinding corn into edible mush to the perils of whale hunts. It’s also a moving portrait of loss and uprootedness, and it’s one that’s told in subtly evocative prose, as when Cécile explains the situation to her family members early on: “Running her hand over the faded squares, [Cécile] picks the quilt up and kisses it. Then as we watch, she gets up from the bench, gathers the quilt and throws it into the hearth-fire….‘It is gone,’ she says, ‘the old life. We cannot live in that time anymore.’ ” Readers will root for Rose as she treads a winding path to an uncertain destination, choosing between her old family and a new one.

A richly textured, luminous saga that treats harsh realities with emotional complexity.