• Age: 12 to 18
• Grade: 7 to 12

A coming- of-age story filled with heroism and heartbreak for 13-year-old Acadian Nathalie Belliveau.

Separated from her family during the brutal 1755 expulsion of Acadians, Nathalie escapes and walks halfway across Nova Scotia to safety in Cap-Sable. When the compassionate Amirault family takes her in, she falls for their shy son Ange. But Nathalie's happiness is shattered by another wave of deportations by the British that keep the young lovers apart. Nathalie uses her tenacity and self-awareness to survive as an indentured servant in North Carolina. Based on the real lives of two Acadian families, the novel is grounded in the historic facts of the Acadian expulsion and their exile in Massachusetts for ten years.

Debra Amirault Camelin is an Acadian with ancestral roots in Nova Scotia. Her 2019 poetry collection, Light in the Mist, includes several poems highlighting her Acadian connections. She has a Bachelor of Journalism degree from Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario and she currently lives in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.

Debra Amirault Camelin's profile page

Selected by CBC as a young adult novel to read in spring 2023

"A riveting tale of hardship and triumph over desperate odds, the engaging characters pull the readers into a different time." - Historical Novel Society

"A gripping fictional account of the deportations from Nova Scotia that began in 1755." - Canadian Teacher Magazine

"Blends historical characters and facts with well-researched and imaginative fiction to give her young adult readers lots of Canadian history as well as adventure and romance. Recommended." - CM: Canadian Review of Materials

With lyrical and masterful storytelling Amirault Camelin seamlessly weaves fact and fiction drawing us deep into the lives, losses, and longings of her vivid characters. We are caught up in this sweeping tale, rooting for Nathalie Belliveau, a resilient and fascinating Canadian heroine. - Caroline Pignat, Governor General's Award Winner (2009 and 2015)

Overflowing with tragedy and romance, Camelin's stories-within-story expertly layer solid research into a compelling narrative.- Gabriele Goldstone, author of Crow Stone