book the true confessions of charlotte doyle

She learns that, ultimately, your choices in life are what define you, not your circumstances. There are few literary heroines today who demonstrate the same amount of self-awareness, candor, and moral compass that Charlotte does. She grows from the first pages of the book from a naive girl into a young woman who questions what she knows is not right. More than that, however, the story is about Charlotte herself. To complicate matters further, the ship’s captain is losing his mind and his descent into madness is heightened in intensity by the plotting of his mutinous crew. Set in an age where propriety was the main concern, Charlotte is the lone female passenger on a ship bound for America. Charlotte swears to tell us the truth of her voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in 1832 in all its detail, and as a narrator, she does not disappoint. With the words, “Not every thirteen-year-old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty”, Charlotte’s tale begins. And you, the sole girl, and I, the only black, are special on this ship. And Zachariah reminds us of this fact: 'Miss Doyle is so young I am so old Surely there is something similar in that. Not only is it a Newbery honor book, but Charlotte’s tale has received accolades as an ALA Best Book for Young Adults and, when it came out in 1990, it was a School Library Journal Best Book. The friendship between Zachariah and Charlotte is founded on their position as outsiders both in nineteenth-century society and the society of the Seahawk.

There is the mention of rum, and it has violence. I actually reread this book about once a year it was the book that inspired me to become an author. It is a great book for kids 11 and older maybe, it has a very good choice of words, but it may bore your kids. With a movie in the works, which will no doubt bring this tale of mutiny on the high seas to a new generation, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle deserves a second look. Publisher: HarperCollins (August 10, 2004)

Book the true confessions of charlotte doyle