Secret Journey

by Peg Kehret

Overview

SWEPT AWAY...
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 she's told 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 violent storm causes a shipwreck, leaving her marooned on the raging seas off the coast of Africa, with only her wits to keep her alive...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781416991120
Publisher:	Aladdin
Publication date:	12/30/2008
Series:	Frightmares Series
Pages:	144
Product dimensions:	4.90(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	770L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

PEG KEHRET's popular novels for young people are regularly nominated for state awards. She has received the Young Hoosier Award, the Golden Sower Award, the Iowa Children's Choice Award, the Celebrate Literacy Award, the Sequoyah Award, the Land of Enchantment Award, the Maud Hart Lovelace Award, and the Pacific Northwest Young Reader's Choice Award. She lives with her husband, Carl, and their animal friends in Washington State, where she is a volunteer at the Humane Society and SPCA. Her two grown children and four grandchildren live in Washington, too.

Peg's Minstrel titles include Nightmare Mountain: Sisters, Long Ago; Cages; Terror at the Zoo; Horror at the Haunted House; and the Frightmares series.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 3-6-A story set in England in the 1830s. Faced with the prospect of being left with relatives whom she cannot stand while her father takes her ailing mother to France, almost 12-year-old Emma disguises herself as a boy and decides to stow away on her parents' ship. On her way to the docks, some ill-intentioned sailors direct her to a ship headed for Africa, and she sneaks aboard. Once discovered, she becomes the cabin boy. Unbelievably, none of the crew suspects that she is a girl. During a storm, the vessel goes down and only Emma survives. She is washed ashore, where she builds herself a lean-to and forages for food. After saving a baby chimpanzee, its mother then cares for her when she is stricken with malaria. Once she is well again, Emma forms the word "help" out of vines and hangs it from the trees and is finally rescued after four months in the jungle. On her return to England, she is surprised to learn that her mother and father have not been told of her disappearance and are expecting her to join them in France. Despite some implausibility, the story is adventurous and enjoyable. The hanging suspense at the end of each chapter encourages readers to continue, and the fast pace will appeal to reluctant readers.-Sarah Smith, Harrison Community Library, MI Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|

School Library Journal

Disguised as a boy, twelve-year old Emma stows away on a sailing ship. Emma is determined to reunite with her mother who is ill and traveling from London to France for rest and recovery. She soon discovers that she has boarded a slave ship heading for Africa and captained by an evil man. When a storm at sea destroys the shop and she is stranded on a distant African shore, Emma must use her courage and resourcefulness to survive. The Secret Journey is a thrilling, exceptionally well written adventure novel that will hold immense appeal for young readers ages 8 to 12.

Midwest Book Review