Secret Journey »

Twelve-year-old Emma Bolton is determined to join her father and her sick mother on their voyage to France. She'll do anything to escape Aunt Martha and hateful Cousin Odolf! So she disguises herself as a boy and sneaks aboard a vessel that she believes is her parents' ship. Too late, Emma discovers that she's a stowaway on Black Lightning, the most notorious slave ship afloat! Her only hope is to hide in plain sight as "William," ship's boy for the cruel Captain Isaac Bacon...until a storm causes a shipwreck, leaving her marooned on the raging seas off the coast of Africa, with only her wits to keep her alive...

VOYA

Twelveyear-old Emma Bolton is a sassy, headstrong only child living in 1834 England. When Emma's father announces a holiday in France for him and Emma's ailing mother, Emma learns that her fate is to stay indefinitely with her financially struggling Aunt Martha and her obnoxious, insensitive cousin, Odolf. Emma, however, has another plan; she will defy her father's wishes and board their Parisbound ship at any cost. What ensues is a pageturning thriller as the strongwilled Emma escapes from Aunt Martha and heads for the docks and her parents' ship. Emma mistakenly stows away on a slave ship headed for the African coast. In rich detail Kehret describes the horrific conditions aboard the ship and the bold, brave actions Emma must take to stay alive. When the ship sinks in a raging storm, Emma, clinging to a hatch cover, makes it to an island shore. In a rather fantastic jungle sequence, Emma holds fast to her hopes for rescue, resourcefully eats a meal of live termites, enjoys the hesitant camaraderie of chimpanzees, and cleverly constructs a makeshift shelter. Young female readers will be absorbed by the story of Emma's journey and the question of whether she will see her parents, especially her mother, ever again. Nature lovers will appreciate Kehret's careful research into the work of Jane Goodall and the rainforest ecosystem in writing Emma's experiences, detailed in an author's notes section at the end of the book. Considering all of the buzz surrounding Harry Potter's adventures, young Emma Bolton makes a stand of her own in this story of adventure and survival. VOYA CODES: 3Q 3P M J (Readable without serious defects; Will appeal with pushing; Middle School, defined as grades6to 8; Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 1999, Pocket, Ages 12 to 15, 135p, $16. Reviewer: Beth Gilbert