Stowaway by Karen
Hesse is quite an interesting historical fiction novel. It’s written
from a stowaway’s point of view, who’s named Nicholas Young. Set in the
summer of 1768, Nicholas was an 11 year old boy who was unhappy with his
father and his job. Seeing nothing in his future, he decides to stow
away on the very ship that Captain James Cook will make his historic
voyage on. The secrecy of his presence on the ship didn’t last,
however. Once he was discovered, he was put to work. Throughout the
voyage, Nick sees some amazing sights and learns a great amount. He
meets the natives of Tahiti, New Zealand, and Australia, wonders at the
sight of kangaroos, and is horrified when shown with cannibalism. It
sounds like a good time (for the most part, at least) but not all good
things last. A midshipman named Mr. Bootie takes it as his personal
responsibility to make Nicks life unbearable. Nick is treated like a
dog, but overcomes this by doing all the requested tasks perfectly,
without hesitation or argument. He earns some respect from Mr. Bootie
while he’s at it. When Nick returns from the voyage, he is no longer a
weak, meager child. He’s a true sea-weathered sailor now.
I enjoyed this book thoroughly, though some others may not. The book
is in a diary format, which means it may not flow as well as another
non-diary book of the same type, but in my mind it’s very effective for a
plot like this. He makes an entry almost every day for the 2 years that
they are at sea, and through his journal we also observe his growth
into a sharp eyed young man that is very likable and gains the respect
of his shipmates. What really surprised me is that at the end, the
author tells us that a boy named Nicholas Young actually
did
stow away on the Endeavour (the ship that the book was set on). I
thought that the secret realism in this was quite enthralling. This book
isn’t for everyone, but if one likes a journal type setup, then this is
perfect for you. 4/5
CITATIONS
Hesse, Karen,
Stowaway. New York: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2002. Print.
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Wow, I have heard of this book and you certainly make it sound interesting. I especially like how you introduced it and then related it to what we did in class. I think this book sounds really cool and you got me interested, great job!
ReplyDeleteGreat job on the summary of the book. It was very descriptive but not too much that it was overwhelming. It made me want to read the book on my own. I like how you incorporated your own thoughts and feelings on the book. Good connection!
ReplyDeleteYou did a very good job giving a decent sized yet very informative summary of the book. I think it was a smart choice to include some of your own opinions about the book, and your intro was great!
ReplyDeleteI think that you did really well with summarizing this story. The story sounds really interesting and it seems like you got a lot out of it. Great job explaining your thoughts and overall opinions on the book!
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