Anika

This is the story of two girls, Anika and Anna, both twelve years old. Anika lives in Port Royal, Jamaica in the seventeenth century and is forced into pearl diving and piracy by her mother’s lover. She must dive and locate the wreck of a Spanish treasure galleon, ‘Don Carlos’. Anna is a London schoolgirl of today. With her friend, Jodie, she accompanies her Jamaican father, who is a historical detective, and a team of marine archaeologists to the Caribbean to hunt for the elusive ‘Don Carlos’. During their search for the galleon they discover a second wreck on the seabed, the pirate ship, ‘Black Lady’ and Anika and Anna’s lives become entwined. There are two kinds of treasure seekers and this novel is about both. The first are pirates, simply wishing to profit from stolen goods. The second are archaeologists, who try to uncover the truth about the past; people’s lives, their stories. The novel shows that although the girls are separated by three centuries and live in different countries, their family love, friendships and courage help them deal with the loss of their fundamental right to freedom.