Beyond the Bright Sea by Lauren Wolk

When Crow was an infant, she washed up on the shore of one of the Elizabethan Islands in Massachusetts in a small boat.  She is adopted by kindly hermit, Osh, and raised by him and a neighbor woman, Maggie.  When Crow is twelve, some things happen that make her wonder about where she was born and why she was abandoned.  Even though her curiosity is painful to Osh, he reluctantly helps her in her search for her origins.  Their investigation leads to a nearby island that used to hold a leper colony.

This is written by the same woman who wrote, Wolf Hollow, which I hated.  This one, however, is not nearly as bitter.  Wolk certainly has a way with words, and this book is worth reading just for the wordcraft.  I imagine this book will be on everyone's "Potential Newbery" lists, but I am not sure what child I would give it to.  I think I will mostly recommend it to adults who like to read well written children's literature.  (283 p. 2017) (for some reason I can't get the picture to move where I want it, sorry)