A Stanger Came Ashore

by Mollie Hunter

an ALA Notable Children's Book

A wild, stormy night, a shipwreck, the sudden appearance of a stranger-that is how it all begins. The stranger is Finn Learson, a young and handsome man who seems the only survivor of the wreck. The Henderson family gladly give him shelter, and so bring a terrible danger into their midst, for Finn Learson is nothing of what he seems to be. Young Robbie is puzzled by the secret smile Finn sometimes wears, and by a gold coin, strange omens in the ashes of a fire, a miraculous escape, and his own sister Elspeth's peculiar behavior. Then, in one frightening moment, Robbie recalls his grandfather's warning and discovers at last the terrible truth about Finn Learson. Only one person has the power to help Robbie save his sister-Yarl Corbie, the wizard-if he will.

-taken from the back of the novel

Mollie Hunter is the author of The Haunted Mountain and The Wicked One both available in Harper Trophy editions, as well as the Carnegie Medal-winning The Stronghold.