Buckey, Sarah Masters 1955–

views updated

Buckey, Sarah Masters 1955–

PERSONAL: Born 1955; married; husband's name Jay; children: three. Education: Cornell University, B.A. (cum laude), 1977; University of Pennsylvania, M.A.

ADDRESSES: Home—Hanover, NH. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Pleasant Company Publications, P.O. Box 620991, Middleton, WI 53562-0991.

CAREER: Writer. Has worked as a researcher and editor, Princeton, NJ; Parkland Memorial Hospital, Dallas, TX, former medical writer; taught English at a community college in Dallas.

AWARDS, HONORS: Parent Council award, 2000, for The Smuggler's Treasure.

WRITINGS:

"AMERICAN GIRL HISTORY MYSTERIES" SERIES

The Smuggler's Treasure, Pleasant Co. Publications (Middleton, WI), 1999.

Enemy in the Fort, Pleasant Co. Publications (Middleton, WI), 2001.

Gangsters at the Grand Atlantic, Pleasant Co. Publications (Middleton, WI), 2003.

The Curse of Ravenscourt: A Samantha Mystery, illustrated by Jean-Paul Tibbles, Pleasant Co. Publications (Middleton, WI), 2005.

Author of short story "Samantha's Special Talent," published in American Girl magazine.

SIDELIGHTS: Sarah Masters Buckey was a researcher, editor, and medical editor before beginning her freelance career. She wrote from home after the birth of her first child, as well as teaching English at a community college. She began writing fiction in the 1990s, and a short story, "Samantha's Special Talent," was published in American Girl magazine. Buckey then went on to write several books for the "American Girl History Mysteries" series. Her first, The Smuggler's Treasure, launched the series. The story is set in Louisiana during the War of 1812. Eleven-year-old Elisabet Holder moves from Boston to New Orleans to live with an aunt and uncle after her London-born father, the captain of a merchant vessel, is captured by the British. Elisabet works in the family bakery, where she meets a man who mentions a treasure map, giving her an idea as to how she can raise the ransom money necessary to free her father. In a "Looking Back" section, Buckey also describes the culture of New Orleans during the period, as well as the American political climate. A Publishers Weekly contributor felt that in The Smuggler's Treasure Buckey "conveys a credible sense of time and place."

Enemy in the Fort is set in 1750s New Hampshire, just prior to the French and Indian War. Ten-year-old Rebecca Percy's parents and baby brother have been kidnapped by the Abenaki Indians, and she and her little sister are taken to Fort Number Four to live with the Widow Tyler. The only possessions they take with them are two engraved spoons from England. Isaac, a fourteen-year-old white boy who was captured as a young child and raised by the Abenaki, is also taken in, and when a series of thefts occur—and the spoons are taken—the settlers suspect Isaac of stealing. When the Abenaki subsequently raid the fort, Isaac is also accused of treachery. School Library Journal reviewer Lee Brock wrote that Buckey's characterizations "are strong, with believable growth…. The relationships between the Native people and the settlers are complex, and are responsibly and respectfully represented."

Gangsters at the Grand Atlantic is set in 1925. In this novel twelve-year-old Emily witnesses a shopkeeper being beaten by gangsters in her Philadelphia neighborhood, after which they threaten her. When her older sister invites Emily to join her for a weekend on the New Jersey shore, the girl happily accepts, but while there, she sees one of the gangsters on the boardwalk. With a new friend, Gwen, who wears leg braces because she has been afflicted with polio, Emily spies on the gangster and lays her plans. Carolyn Phelan noted in Booklist that Buckey "succeeds in telling a suspenseful story with a likable heroine while communicating a great deal about 1920s attitudes."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 1, 2001, Connie Fletcher, review of Enemy in the Fort, p. 317; May 15, 2003, Carolyn Phelan, review of Gangsters at the Grand Atlantic, p. 1665.

Publishers Weekly, August 23, 1999, review of The Smuggler's Treasure, p. 60.

School Library Journal, December, 2001, Lee Bock, review of Enemy in the Fort, p. 132.