I would read anything that Alexander McCall Smith wrote, but when he starts a new series I admit I do hesitate, just slightly, as I open the book for the first time. Will it be as good as his other stories? Will I love the characters just as much? This time he has reinvented the boarding school story, because who doesn't love a good adventure with children separated from their parents? This school is a boarding school with a very big difference however because it's on a boat! This isn't just any old boat, of course, but a proper sailing ship, and whilst aboard the children must learn how to handle her.