Geraldine Brooks · 2011 · sea

Geraldine Brooks's 2011 novel, built on a true fragment of history: in 1665 a young Wampanoag man from Martha's Vineyard became the first Native American to graduate from Harvard. Narrated by Bethia Mayfield, a Puritan minister's daughter who befriends him on the island, it follows Caleb's crossing, both the literal voyage from Great Harbor to Cambridge and the far harder passage between two cultures, faiths and futures.

1. 1
   Great Harbor

   On Martha's Vineyard, Bethia Mayfield and Caleb, a Wampanoag chieftain's son, forge a secret friendship across the chasm between their worlds.

2. 2
   Cambridge

   Caleb crosses the water to Cambridge, mastering Latin and Greek to become, in 1665, the first Native American to graduate from Harvard, while Bethia follows as an indentured servant.