The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle By: Avi

This is a book, and story that took place in the 1830's . The main character, female, Charlotte Doyle thirteen years old is from a well to do family from Providence, Rhode Island. Charlotte attended Barrington School for Better Girls in England . Charlotte's Father wanted his daughter to finish the school term rather than yank her out to the United States to attend school. The only problem Charlotte encounters after school in England is finished, is to get home to Rhode Island she must cross the Atlantic Ocean by ship. She Charlotte, discovers she has no family on board the ship, and she is alone without relatives. The trip normally takes one to two months during the summer. Charlotte's Father insists she keep a daily journal. Keeping the journal keeps the fateful voyage in 1832 detailed.

The name of the ship Charlotte boarded was "Seahawk" it was a brig with two masted ship that was 107 feet long. Charlotte had her private cabin, and at the beginning of the voyage treated like a Princess. Remember her Father was a merchant, and owned this ship. Charlotte had many things to learn on board the ship. For example, a knife was called a dirk , a small daggerlike blade six inches in length. Charlotte was given a dirk for protection.

The story goes on, and Charlotte becomes instead of a prim, and proper lady, and becomes like a sailor in ways of living, and in behavior. Read this book, and you will be intrigued of Charlotte's doings. This book is fascinating, and full of exciting events.

LRD 7/5/06

Pirates by Celia Rees

This story is based on true events. Nancy grew up on the warves among the sailing ships with servants' children and children of poverty. Her mother died shortly after her birth. Her father and brothers were merchant seamen and slavers. When her father dies, her life suddenly dramatically changes. Her brothers ship her off to a plantation in Jamaica where servants Minerva and Phyllis care for her. She discovers that a marriage has been arranged for her with a Dark, Controlling, Violent Brazillian much older than she.
He will receive rights to the plantation which she inherited. This her brothers didn't bother telling her. The arrangement would save the brothers' shipping business. Rather than marry this horrid man, Nancy, Phyllis and Minerva run away. They make their way to a secret village deep in the jungle. It is know by a few pirates and traders as well as former slaves. From here the girls Minerva and Nancy join a pirate ship as male crew members. The Brazilian is always chasing after Nancy as she and Minerva go about their adventures as pirates...until the fatal final meeting.
Slow reading. Most of the first half of the book is used to set up the rest of the story.
jdw 7/5/06

Deep By: Susanna Vance

This is an action packed story that will put readers into the magical, and real events are happening. The two main characters are Birdie Sidwell, and Morgan Bera, who are females. Both were kidnapped by Nicholas, a fake Australian who was a ruthless sailor.

Little did Nicholas know that Birdie had asthma, and without her inhaler that had medicine she could stop breathing. Morgan was very good looking Norweigian that had a lot of strength.

This book is full of events that most people would not be able to endure. Together, these two girls become friends and when they are placed in a small wooden crate to try to survive with minimal food, and water. They also have a way to go to the bathroom. Their next experience, is when crazy Nicholas places the crate down an old well. This book is full of happenings , in fact in some places in the book it becomes a bit scarry for Birdie . One has to remember it is a make believe story, so we must go on living.

This book is real exciting to read, and I recommend the book very much.

7/3/06 LRD

Midnighters 3: Blue Noon - Westerfeld

Blue time occurs at Midnight and time freezes. There are only a select few people who can go out and walk around in the Blue time, and they are called Midnighters. When Jessica, Jonathan, Dess, Melissa, and Rex are in school the blue time happens at 9 am, they become concerned and wonder why Blue time is happening during the day. Rex and Melissa go and visit an old mindcaster that is still in Bixby and she tells them that the darkings are responsible for the Blue time happening during the day. The darklings plan on expanding the blue time to encompass the world so they can feed on humans whenever they want with no one to stop them. The Midnighters come up with a plan to stop the rift the darklings have opened up, but what sacrifices must Jessica, Jonathan, Dess, Melissa, and Rex make to stop the darklings from overtaking the world as they know it?

This book was a very good ending to this trilogy and it left a few things open if Scott Westerfeld wanted to continue the series. I recommend Midnighters 1: The Secret Hour and Midnighters 2: Touching Darkness also by Scott Westerfeld to see how it all began.

Tom Burnham

The Hunter's Moon

In order for the land of Faerie to continue to exist a human sacrifice must be made by the king of faerie on the night of the Hunder's Moon. The Hunter is a worm. A being from the dark. Human cousins Findabhair and Gwen go on an adventure searching for and finding the land of
Faerie. Upon entering one chooses to stay and one to leave. One agrees to be the sacrifice, the other to try and rescue her cousin and best friend from her fate. Perhaps a company of seven blessed by Faerie could overcome the truly evil worm that is the Hunter. All agree it is worth a try. And so it is Dara king of the Isle of Inch and his great aunt Grania healer, Gwen, friends Mattie and Katie met during her travels, Findabhair and Faerie King Finvaara all transformed in wonderful ways with gifts of strength of Faerie go against the dreaded monster. Fans of author Chris Wooding should enjoy this story and sequels.
JDW

Maisie Dobbs by Winespeare

This was on the best book for teens list a couple of years back. Its a first book in a new adult mystery/suspense series set in the early 1900's England. Its a cozy mystery. Nothing is too graphic and Maisie is a sweet, upright, character who has seen bad times. She also has a gift for reading people and understanding the deeper meanings in what they say do. This makes her especially suited to solving mysteries. She is asked to find out if a young wife is unfaithful to her husband. She finds that the woman in question is grieving over the death of a long lost lover. He was severely injured in wwII and never fully recovered. Curiously his grave and those of several others in the cemetary bear only first names not last. This leads to the discovery of a farm retreat for soldiers with severe facial wounds. Something sinister is afoot there. Maisie sets out to discover what before the son of her former employer permanently enters the retreat.
I can't think of a teen who would read this. Also, I knew everything long before it was revealed, but it was kind of fun and maybe someone really really into mysteries would be interested for the thought process Maisie uses to uncover the truth.

The Wrecker's By: Iain Lawrence

This is a novel that takes place in Pendennis, Cornwall. This is a County in England famous for pirates. It is known in History that many shipwrecks occured around this location due to evil happenings. The actual villagers prayed for shipwrecks. The people of Pendennis they lived from whatever they could savage from the shipwrecks. Things they got were dead sailors tools, and trinkets.

The book is written in the style of Robert Louis Stevenson, and Charles Dickens. The book is a tale about bravery, verses, and villainy. The characters of the book are very well portrayed. There is one female character calle Mary that adds flavor to the story. Her Father is called Simon Mawogan who was mixed up with the wreckers. John Spencer, a young man, survived a ship wreck . He was a boy who became a man, and helped a lot with people. He eventually rescued his Father , whome he believed was dead.

This is an excellent read, and lots of action.
LRD 6/19/06

High Heat by Carl Deuker

Shane Hunter may have one of the toughest jobs in any sport played, he's a closer. A closer is a pitcher that comes in and tries to end the game for the winning team. At times they are given a slight lead and must be at their top of the game to not give up a run. Most times it’s just a pressure issue with pitcher in not being able to close out a game but for Shane he feeds off of the pressure. Until his father is caught for laundering drug money for drug lords and commits suicide.

Now Shane's nice cozy life of riches is gone on the ghetto slumps is his new life. All his former friends barely acknowledge his existence. Shane now hangs out with low lives and vows never to play ball again. When Shane gets in trouble with the law and is shoved back into the spotlight, can he regain his early form and once again be the shutout pitcher he use to be?
RH