Everyone has that list. You know, the one that has all the books you would have to have on a deserted island? I know that sometimes the list changes, but I love it when you come back to an original favorite and realize that it still has the stuff.
Avi's The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle is like that for me.
I'm waiting to get some other books from the library right now (more on that later), but I HAVE TO HAVE something to read in the meantime! A few months back we got some "new" bookshelves from some friends that made room on my existing bookshelves for me to pull out all the books that I had packed away. Most of those were young adult literature and I spent a great deal of time not just putting them on the shelves but reminiscing about each one. And this one was one of my absolute favorites. I'm not sure how many times I read it as a girl but I loved it every time and still do.
It's the story of a very proper 13-year old girl who is making the trip from England to America alone in the 1830s. She ends up on a ship with a captain and crew who hate each other -- the crew has vowed revenge on the captain for a crime of a former journey and the girl must decide where her allegiance, and her sense of right and wrong, will lead her.
It is an awesome book -- well written, exciting story with great plot twists and somewhat of a surprise ending. It's one of my all-time favorites and after reading it again after years and years, I think it's going to stay on my "deserted island list". Definitely worth your time.
