Finding Sea Legs - Shannon Mulholland;R. McFarland

Finding Sea Legs is a middle-grade adventure novel set in the fog-wrapped world of a secret floating pirate colony off the coast of San Francisco. The story follows EMMA CONNORS, thirteen, a perceptive, daring girl who feels invisible in her own life. Living on a run-down motel that is a rusty out-of-service tug boat with her financially struggling parents, she has no friends, no roots, and no sense of belonging. When a mysterious sea creature surfaces in a tide pool, strange islands appear on the horizon, and a message-in-a-bottle arrives signed by a woman calling herself Captain, Emma seizes the chance to find out who she really is.

What follows is a year-long immersion in pirate culture: an acceptance into Devil's Teeth, the most rigorous and dangerous school on the Seven Seas; friendships forged under fire; a coded mystery hiding California Gold Rush treasure; and a confrontation with the half-brother whose resentment has shadowed Emma's life since before she was born. By the end of the novel, Emma has not only discovered her identity-she has chosen it.