Summary from Goodreads: A stowaway, a stolen book, a murderous villain: an adventure on the most famous shipwreck in history.
The
great ocean liner Titanic is preparing to cross the Atlantic. On board
is a sinister thief bent on stealing a rare book that may be the key to
unlocking infinite treasure, a wealthy academic traveling home to
America with his rare book collection, and Patrick Waters, a
twelve-year-old Irish boy who is certain that his job as a steward on
the unsinkable ship will be the adventure of a lifetime. Disguises,
capers, and danger abound as the ship makes its way toward that fateful
iceberg where Patrick will have to summon all his wits in order to
survive.
My Review: I bought this book to add to my school's library from Scholastic. Unfortunately, historical fiction is rarely read in my school and I wanted to find books to draw students into the genre. This book appeared to be all that I could hope for- and it was!
The stories surrounding the Titanic tend to me popular anyways, but adding the actiony mystery to the mix was a nice touch. Part of the build-up of this book IS the fact that we know the Titanic will sink. While we get caught up in the 'what is going to happen to the characters?!' the story-line does stand on it's own.
Students will enjoy the action, the fighting and disguises, and might even become engaged in historical fiction! (Might I add- it does NOT feature a love story!) The historical aspects of this novel are spot on- and gave myself even a greater appreciation for those who worked in the boiler rooms.
This book took me maybe 2 hours to read, however that while being interrupted by classes. I could not wait to finish the book, and when I did to look up the author to see what other books I could add to our collection.
If you enjoy Middle Grade books, work with kids, or want to buy HF for a reluctant reader, this would be a great place to start.
My Rating: 4 stars. The ending moved pretty quickly so I had to re-read a chapter to fully understand who was doing what, but other than that, this book will be a great addition to my library.
Jenni
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