A 16 year-old orphaned boy named Pedro is on the Santa Maria ship on a voyage to find a new route to India. He has signed on as a cabin boy with the expedition and hopes to find a new life outside of his home in Spain. But Pedro is hiding some dreadful secrets. One of those is that Pedro is the child of the Rabbi of Cordoba and is fleeing Spain, as are many other Jews, due to the Spanish Inquisition and the terrible decrees of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella. Want to know another secret? Pedro is a really a girl named Esther.

Esther's father valued learning --- she can read and write Latin, unlike many of the other sailors. This knowledge earns her a job working as a personal servant for the admiral, Christopher Columbus. But Columbus is a hard master and particularly good at snooping out the lies and trickery in his crew. Now Esther/Pedro must be extremely careful. Will the crew members to find out her secrets and turn her in? Read this exciting book to find out!

I especially liked this book because right now we're learning about Christopher Columbus and other famous explorers in history class, and I think that they're interesting to learn about. FREEDOM BEYOND THE SEA was also very interesting as it gave lots of information about the ways Jews were treated in Europe long ago ---which up until now I didn't know anything about. Esther is a very strong girl character and a brave hero for anyone. FREEDOM BEYOND THE SEA is an exciting read because it is full of adventure and you know what is going to happen next!

   -   --- Reviewed by Ashley, age 13