Thrown to the Wind (A Country for Castoffs)

Step back into a time little known or understood today to experience the physical and emotional struggles, witness the events, and learn of the people, through the eyes of those who lived them. Often, we have learned that Europeans came to the New World only to make their fortunes at the expense of others, and yet people came for many other reasons too. The reasons were not all the same and the people were not either. Discover the desperations and courage of those who risked everything to come to these shores and create for themselves this Country of Castoffs.Based on true events, this story traces one boy's journey from France to America in 1660 as he finds the courage to save himself and those he loves.Etienne Gayneau doesn't understand why the Catholics and Protestants in France can't get along, only that it means he's not allowed to see his cousin and best friend, Nicolas, and why he'll never be a musketeer. But when a bounty is placed on his father's head for being a heretic, he must choose to flee with his family, or to run away and hide out with his Catholic cousin.Etienne must give up everything he has ever known as he faces many dangers along his journey. Along the way, Etienne will befriend a beautiful Dutch girl with a dangerous father, confront his guilt over the death of his brother, and face off against injury, illness, and death. Will Etienne choose to fulfill his family's expectations, or will he plot the course for his own destiny?