Treasure of the Lost Isles

THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL meets GOONIES in this swashbuckling series starter set in a sailing boarding school from a talented new voice.

In an alternate timeline where pirates still sail, twelve-year-old Nina Moewardi’s grown up on a ship captained by her father who repatriates stolen treasure for an international alliance. Life on the sea is exciting, in a lot of ways, but what Nina wants more than anything is to find out what happened to her mother. When she discovers a letter her mom left behind and the knowledge that her mom attended the famed Fathoms, a sailing school founded by pirates, Nina is sure being a student there will help her find the answers she so desperately longs for, even if her dad is reluctant to let her go.

At Fathoms, safely settled in her dorm housed on an 18th century frigate, she’s excited to navigate new waters, new skills, and new friendships. Still, there are deeply entrenched legacy divides in the school between those who claim pirate ancestry and those who call super yachts home. And Nina doesn’t fit in either world.

But when her dad’s latest assignment hits a snag that could cost him his ship, Nina uncovers a lead at school that might redirect the course of the mission. But if she’s going to save the day, she’ll have to be braver than she’s ever been before to discover an eagerly sought treasure, her mother’s past, and her own potential future.

A dazzling debut, Treasure of the Lost Isles is a gripping upper middle grade adventure set on the high seas for anyone ready to be swept away.

Noël Baris lives in Singapore where she writes about girls growing up and making a stand in the world. Like her main character Nina, Noël is Dutch-Indonesian, but as a biracial person who has lived in multiple continents and a third culture kid in international school (and now raising her daughter abroad), she writes diverse casts so that as many kids as possible can see themselves in her characters.