Reviews

One of the darkest yet most engrossing of Lawrence's (the High Seas Trilogy) adventure novels, this tale set in 19th-century England and inspired by actual events sheds light on the sordid conditions of a prison ship for boys convicted of crimes. Action moves at a fast clip. Within the first 30 pages of the novel, 14-year-old Tom loses his father to debtors' prison, discovers a diamond half-buried in the riverbed, survives near strangulation by a man who wants his treasure and stumbles upon the corpse of a boy who could pass as his identical twin. Readers (and Tom) hardly have a chance to catch their breath before the unfortunate teen is mistaken for the deceased ruffian and dragged off to serve a seven-year term "beyond the seas" on the Lachesis. The author vividly conjures Tom's fear, dismay and physical pain aboard the vessel as he witnesses and personally experiences numerous atrocities, including near starvation, bondage and bullying by both guards and other inmates. Knowing the odds for survival are against him, Tom desperately searches for a means to escape the ship. The book, aimed at those mature and strong-stomached enough to endure Tom's horrors, powerfully draws readers into another time and place, and gripping Dickensian coincidences abound. The ending offers a glimmer of hope for down-trodden Tom and also leaves a door open for a sequel. Ages 10-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Gr 5-8-The underside of life in 19th century England comes alive in Ian Lawrence's Dickensian tale (Delacorte, 2005) about Tom Tin, a 14-year-old whose sea captain father has been taken to debtor's prison and whose mother is losing her mind following the death of Tom's younger sister. A desperate Tom runs away from home to try to free his father, and ends up having a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He discovers a diamond in the mud, but then has to fight off a blind man to keep it. Tom spends an unforgettable night with a grave robber, and is later mistaken for a look-alike ruffian named "The Smasher." This eventually results in his being found guilty of murder and sent to a former British battleship now turned into a prison ship for hundreds of boys. Tom's life on the ship forms the main and most memorable part of the story with its wrenching descriptions of the boys' daily routine and the survival of the fittest. Tom befriends a waif named Midgely who retains a positive outlook despite his dreadful circumstances and helps Tom overcome his fear of the sea. While there are plenty of villains in the story, the main one is the ironically named Mr. Goodfellow who is obsessed with ruining Tom's family. Listeners will get caught up in John Keating's compelling narration once they become accustomed to his British accent and to the meaning of terms such as "bone grubber."-David Bilmes, Schaghticoke Middle School, New Milford, CT Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.