More Precious Than Rubies — Marilyn Forstot

Her destiny is to perform great deeds. Her culture shapes her future. Sarah Perez has red hair, which is unusual in her Sephardic Jewish heritage. All her ancestresses with that coloring were heroic and special, and she expects to be the same. Days on the Caribbean island of St Eustatius are ordinary for young Sarah: swimming in the sea, studying with her brothers, and learning from her grandmother the skills of being a good wife and a righteous Jew. The island salutes the new flag of the American colonies, and her father and brothers form an alliance with American gunrunner David Spinoza. Life for Sarah is ordinary no longer. The British invade the island and capture the vessels sailing into the harbor. Sarah must warn David before he sails his ship into the trap! This heroic deed starts her on a life voyage where she finds great love and suffers deep losses. After many years and many achievements, Sarah finally understands what makes a woman MORE PRECIOUS THAN RUBIES. MORE PRECIOUS THAN RUBIES is steeped in Jewish tradition and life in the early days of the United States.