Avi

I read this book like ten times when I was in middle school. The suspense! The high seas! The adventure! Getting all up in Charlotte Doyle's life always helped me get out of my own. Whatever problems I had with soccer or school seemed small compared to being accused of murder by an evil sea captain. Charlotte's story helped me take the long-view, to the see the big picture, to get some perspective on life. I love that there's no romance in this book at all. Sadly, many of the books I read as show more a kid lead me to believe that true love is the end-all and be-all of life. At the end of Charlotte's journey, she just wants to get out of her corset and into some comfy clothes. Amen, sister.

In fact, I think Charlotte Doyle is one of the great inspirational characters in children's literature. She transforms from a snobby, scared sheep-girl into a strong, brave, sailor-woman. She stops letting other people dictate her life to her and takes control. You can almost feel her spirit uncoiling as you read. It's breathtaking. It's transporting. It's awesome. show less

This book haunted me when I read it a few times as a tween. As an adult, I both did and did not want to read the book again because the stories were so weird and sad. Each story explores some kind of loss. None of the stories are necessarily meant to be sad or so unsettling that they're creepy. But I view them as such. "What Do Fish Have to Do with Anything?" touches on how a boy's relationship to his mother and society changes after his dad leaves. "The Goodness of Matt Kaizer" briefly show more examines a loss of identity due to shifting self-expression, both from a boy who is friends with a rebellious PK (preacher's kid) and the PK himself. The way this particular story was written made it seem like someone had died, not just stopped rebelling. "Talk to Me" just cracked my heart down the middle as a kid. It was the most memorable of the stories for a variety of reasons, when I was a kid. I wanted the caller to be Brian. As an adult, I knew what was coming. I felt so bad that the girl was ostracized for something that had nothing to do with her, and that she was desperately lonely. "Teacher Tamer" made me chuckle at the last line, originally. Now, all these years later: I really hope kids don't use Gregory as an example. Poor Mrs Wessex. "Pets" was the most heartwarming of these creepy, sad stories. I was glad to read it again. Also it's still creepy. "What's Inside" is still profound. "Fortune Cookie" was one I sort of understood when I first read it. As an adult, I cackled and guffawed and cackled some more as Parker cleverly called both his parents out on their shit. He was a wiseass and it was refreshing. show less

Rather than build on the events of the first novel, this sequel just spends the entire time fleeing them. This pointless road trip has Crispin and Bear on the run from one place to another, meeting random people and being buffeted by circumstance, always reacting, never advancing. And the point where Avi chooses to stop writing -- not an actual ending, mind you -- is just miserable.

I have no desire to read the last book in the series, especially since summaries and reviews make it sound even show more worse than this one. show less

I can remember the very first time I read this book when I was about 10, and not wanting to put it down. The language was rich and didn't talk down to the reader, which I enjoyed. I really felt swept up into this adventure on the high seas and was gripped by the story of Charlotte, the lone girl aboard an ill-fated ship destined for mutiny. Having just reread the book after so many years, I wondered whether it would captivate me as much as it did then. The answer was Yes! The tale of danger, show more deceit, murder, and courage still left me on the edge of my seat and unable to put the book down until it was finished. Avi is the kind of young adult author that knows that children are worthy of a great story, even with some dark themes. Charlotte transforms from a prim and proper young lady into a brave, strong, sailor...something unheard of for a woman of her class in the 1800s. The friendship that Charlotte forms with Zachariah, the ship's cook, who also happens to be black, was also an important element in her character evolution. This is an intricate tale, but thrilling and sticks with you after reading. show less