The Perilous Year

Alana Trumpy is a graduate student in English at the University of
Toronto.

The Perilous Year is a sequel to The Hungry Year (2001). Both books are
novelistic portrayals of 18th-century Ontario, with content drawn from
the author’s family history as well as from historical records.

The Perilous Year follows the adventures of two hard-working farm boys
who get a break from country life when they find themselves at the mercy
of pirates and wild storms (to name but a few adventures), but who also
must face the realities of home: their sister getting married, a new
stepmother, a birth. The story of a year in the twins’ lives is a
story of courage—the type that is found in the midst of adventure and
the type that one uses in readjusting one’s perceptions.

Connie Brummel Crook’s tenth novel is marred by pedestrian prose but
redeemed by a winning storyline. Recommended.