Adventure Pick: Stranded

Stranded
by Jeff Probst and Chris Tebbetts
Scholastic
2013
176 pages

What happens when a smooth sailboat experience becomes dangerous and life threatening? Four kids who don't know each other and don't like each other are thrown together when their parents marry. The parents send the four on a sailboat adventure with their uncle Dexter and his first mate Jim. When the weather turns rough, their uncle tells the kids to go below in the cabin.

The storm is too much for the boat and soon Dexter and Jim are launching the life raft. Jim and Dexter are swept away with the raft and kids have to weather the storm alone with no power and no mainsail. Eventually the kids are washed onto a rocky outcropping on an uninhabited island (shades of "Survivor")!



Forced to work together, the four soon realize they only have each other. They are able to contact their parents and tell them approximately where they are--the Coast Guard is searching for them, but the search area is 500 miles wide. The kids set up a signal fire in case they see planes and learn to trap rain water for drinking water. They salvage what they can from the sailboat.

Jim and Dexter are rescued but the kids are running out of hope. When a huge wave takes the sailboat out to sea, they realize that they will have to survive with nothing but each other.

Jane is the most remarkable character of the four children. She's smart, outspoken, and fearless. She's only nine years old, but she's the brains in this mixed family.

Highly recommended grade 5-up. Anyone who likes action and adventure is sure to like this book.

FTC Required discalimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

Middle Grades Pick: Sailing To Freedom

Sailing to Freedom
By Martha Bennett Stiles
Henry Holt and Company
2012
245 pages with glossary

Sailing To Freedom is Kentucky's Exhibit Choice for the 2012 National Book Fest.

The year is 1839 and slave ships still deliver human cargo to America’s shores.
Twelve year old Ray Ingle dreams of going to sea with his father. Father tells him he’s still too young and too short, and to appease him, he leaves behind Allie, a tiny capuchin monkey. Ray is appeased for a while, but when his mother falls ill, Ray must live with his greedy and spiteful Uncle Slye. Uncle Slye hates Allie and makes Ray feel terrible, so Ray jumps at the chance to board the Newburyport Beauty and sail with his nice Uncle Thad.

Uncle Thad says Ray can help Cook in the kitchen. Cook is almost as mean as Uncle Slye, but Allie manages to get better food. Soon, she’s stealing the kitchen blind, and Cook is having a fit! They run into trouble and bad weather; next, they have to face tough bounty hunters who are looking for runaway slaves. Uncle Thad has a secret, and every member of the crew keeps the secret safe. Cook used to be a slave, and now is hiding something, too. Cook needs Ray’s help each day, and as he depends on Ray, he comes to trust him.

Told from Ray’s point of view, the story comes alive. Allie the monkey adds comic relief and is a worthy sea-worthy sidekick. The glossary is helpful for readers not familiar with sailing terms.

Recommended grades 4-up. Students may need some background information about America and slave ships, Abolitionists, bounty hunters, and the Amistad.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the author. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.