Secrets of Sable Island

by Marcia Pierce Harding

After a vicious storm aboard ship, fourteen-year-old Caleb is tossed into the Atlantic Ocean. Frightened and alone, he finds himself nudged awake. He's been recovered by one of Sable Island's legendary wild stallions and is given shelter by a mysterious stranger, Norse, who is secretly living on the island. As Caleb recovers and gets to know his strange rescuer, learning the art of scrimshaw, storytelling, and survival, he wonders how he'll manage to remain on the island he's come to love. When he befriends the ghostly girl who rides bareback over the dunes, he knows he must do whatever he can to save her, and himself.

A heartwarming and captivating adventure set on the infamous isolated sandbar that has captivated so many, and featuring original illustrations, Secrets of Sable Island will leave young readers spellbound.

Genres: Canada, Historical, Historical Fiction

216 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Allen Steele · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. An orphan boy who lost his parents to the ocean signs on to a fishing boat and gets swept off the boat in a gale. He ends up on sable island where everyone has a different secret their trying to keep from everyone else. Almost comical the way they all live on this island a few miles apart but really have no communication. Our orphan finds purpose & love and most importantly hope, in this coming of age story. This was fiction- the horses do live there, but to what extent they interact with people, I just don't know.

[Margaret Davidson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a cute book. I have always wanted to visit Sable Island, and this helped bring its history alive. The ending wasn't my favorite, as it seemed like it tumbled out. Great read.

[Colette · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel walks the fine line between ghost story and realistic historical fiction beautifully. Caleb is washed ashore Sable Island and rescued by the island's wild horse Kull who alerts a mysterious stranger named Norse who tends the East Lighthouse. Caleb is made to promise to not tell anyone of his rescuer. Suffering from a concussion, Caleb thinks he is seeing ghosts of a girl rider on a wild horse, which he may be confusing for some of the legends he has heard about the island and it's previous occupants.
The romance in this novel is beautifully done, Caleb keeps his word to Norse even though it may cost him his own happiness. The mystery of the relationships between the habitants of the island is solved gradually with clues sprinkled into the story in a thoughtful way. The fate of the horses adds tension to the story as the horses and the residents lives are intertwined. The horses save the humans and the humans also save the horses, despite the cruelty of some.
Engaging and spiritual without being trite, this novel is recommended for younger teens who love ghost/mystery and historical novels.

[hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was pretty good in the beginning. It flowed well between the many perspectives but it just dragged on in the end.

[Digitally Lit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ariela: 4.5 stars

Secrets of Sable Island is one of the books I was looking forward to reading in 2023, and it really did not disappoint. The book starts off with 14 year old Caleb who’s working on a schooner. He falls over board during a storm and washes up on Sable Island, an island full of wild horses and ships that have met their end in it’s sands. Caleb washes up on shore, and is saved by a man who is secretly living on the island.

I thought this was a really fun book to read, it had that historical fiction element to it, and it also had this charm that I really fell in love with. Caleb was a pretty solid character, I liked him, and Norse, the man who saved him was really nice too. Caleb’s main objective is to get off the island and back home, I think he lived somewhere in Europe originally, but soon enough he finds that his home for a bit is Secrets of Sable Island. There are a handful of other characters too, Marin, Charlotte, Rodney, and Bryce. It’s a pretty small island, so it’s a little bit hard to believe that there’s a man living on the island in one of the very few homes there completely undetected, but it works I guess. Marin was such a fun character to read about, I really liked her, and her and Caleb make a great pair of friends to read about. This book is a really relaxing read, I didn’t find many action scenes, but it’s still really exciting and has you thinking about what’s going to happen next. Also, there was a plot twist and it was pretty… erm… plot… twisty? I really didn’t expect that from this book. It’s actually a pretty calm book where everyone rides horses on the beach. *thinks back to the beginning where Caleb is overboard and almost drowning in the storm* On second, thought, maybe it’s *not* such a calm book after all XD

I think that it’s very safe to say that I liked this book, and I will be trying out a video game that was made for it as well! We’ll have to see how well I do with that one… I don’t play many video games. I would definitely recommend Secrets of Sable Island for any horse lovers, adventure lovers, or just people who want a nice light read for the day!

[Sue Slade · Rating 5 out of 5]

The middle-grade story, Secrets of Sable Island by Marcia Pierce Harding is an excellent historical fiction novel. Set in 1904 on an Island most famous for its wild horses and many shipwrecks, the story weaves truths, legends, and the superstitions of the time into a fictional coming of age story of Caleb, a 14-year-old boy who washes ashore after a storm. Injured with a broken leg and severe concussion, he is found by the great stallion Kull and then rescued by a man named Norse. During his long days of recovering, he learns the art of scrimshaw, carving on whale teeth from the skeletons that have washed ashore. I admit I had never heard of this art before and I love when I learn something new. The novel’s storyline is well developed and keeps you interested right to the end. This is the type of adventure story I would have loved to have read and re-read when I was a young teen. Horse lovers will especially love this book, but it would interest many others as well.

[Lana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful young adult book. Great for boys and girls. Relatable characters and an interesting/ captivating story.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read about half way through and then lost interest. Love the setting and the story was good too. Just lost interest.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an amazing book. It starts a little slow but it hooked me after the first few chapters. It's definitely a book I would read again.

[Mary-Esther Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quiet and idyllic, with a touch of romance.