When Sally O’Malley Discovered the Sea

Gr 4-6–It’s Sally O’Malley against the world in this gripping and perilous journey to find the sea, and maybe family along the way. Sally is a white, 13-year-old orphan who has had enough of the orphanage, and her job. She’s faced hardships aplenty, and she’s decided a trek to the sea will be her great adventure, just like those in the dime novels she’s devoured. But when Sally runs into an old delivery woman “Major” and her troop and then is saddled with Lafayette, a whiny little boy, her grand quest takes a turn. Sally’s travels are brimming with heart and a healthy use of flamboyant vocabulary. Though the pacing of her pilgrimage suffers at points, and some of the book’s darkest moments read a little shallow, Cushman crafts a lovable and well-developed cast of characters while maintaining Sally’s often slapstick and dramatic inner voice. As the girl learns more about the world around her, readers are transported to the historic Pacific Northwest. Her journeys, external and internal, shape her from a jaded, spiteful, and tossed-aside orphan to a compassionate, dependable, and heroic friend and member of a found family.