The Finest Hours ─ The True Story of a Heroic Sea Rescue

On the night of February 18, 1952, during one of the worst winter storms that New England has ever seen, two oil tankers just off the shore of Cape Cod were torn in half by the force of the storm. This middle-grade adaptation of an adult nonfiction book tells the story of the shipwreck and a harrowing Coast Guard rescue when four men in a tiny lifeboat overcame insurmountable odds and saved more than 30 stranded sailors. This is a fast-paced, uplifting story that puts young readers in the middle of the action. It's a gripping story of heroism and survival with the same intensity as the bestselling book and movieThe Perfect Storm.

A Christy Ottaviano Book

Michael J. Tougias is the author of many true rescue stories, includingA Storm Too Soon, Overboard!, Fatal Forecast: An Incredible True Tale of Disaster at Sea, andTen Hours Until Dawn: The True Story of Heroism and Tragedy Aboard the Can Do, which ALA named an Editor's Choice andBooklist praised "as the best story of peril at sea since The Perfect Storm." A frequent lecturer on his work, Tougias lives in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

Casey Sherman is an award winning journalist and bestselling author of six books includingAnimal, A Rose for Mary, Bad Blood, Black Irish, and Black Dragon. He received the Edward R. Murrow Award for Journalistic Excellence as a member of the CBS Boston news team, and has been nominated for an Emmy Award. A featured guest on major television networks and news programs, Sherman has lectured at The National Press Club and the US Coast Guard Command Center in Washington, D.C. He lives in Marshfield, Massachusetts.