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bean_7088's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Read this originally many years ago. Still holds up to what I remember, which was a pretty decent story of a rich privileged brat learning that things are not what she thinks.
Narrator was mostly good, but I could her her swallowing her spit a lot mer the end which was not super pleasant.
Narrator was mostly good, but I could her her swallowing her spit a lot mer the end which was not super pleasant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Minor: Racism
kibbles15's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, and Murder
Minor: Racism and Sexism
mysana's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Racism and Violence
agoldendear's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Overall, this was a pretty easy book to read and understand. However, there were a few weird things from the perspective of an adult reader.
First, the fact that this was meant for children warps the content of the book, in a way. Everything was incredibly innocent, save for vague mentions of swearing and sexy photos belonging to the sailors. There was basically no blatant racism or sexism (aside from what a bad guy says), despite this book taking place on a ship filled with men in the 19th century. Depending on who you are, this might be a good thing or seen as weirdly unrealistic.
The protagonist was fitting for the book's target audience, being a thirteen year old girl. Charlotte Doyle is a naive girl from a wealthy family who has always been taught to respect authority and follow rules. Based on this, she was very stressful to read about for a lot of this book. You learn right away that bad things are brewing on the ship she's traveling on, and I was so concerned that she would end up exacerbating it. It makes sense that she would act this way though, based on her upbringing. Therefore, I can't fault the character of Charlotte for always acting in a way that fit her. It was nice to see her eventually grow as the novel went on.
Another weird thing was the pacing of the book. It says right on the back in big letters that Charlotte will be framed for murder, but that doesn't even happen until the last quarter of the book. I was thinking that would be a bigger thing throughout the whole novel. The book also started out very slowly. It took nearly half the book to get to the actually interesting stuff.
First, the fact that this was meant for children warps the content of the book, in a way. Everything was incredibly innocent, save for vague mentions of swearing and sexy photos belonging to the sailors. There was basically no blatant racism or sexism (aside from what a bad guy says), despite this book taking place on a ship filled with men in the 19th century. Depending on who you are, this might be a good thing or seen as weirdly unrealistic.
The protagonist was fitting for the book's target audience, being a thirteen year old girl. Charlotte Doyle is a naive girl from a wealthy family who has always been taught to respect authority and follow rules. Based on this, she was very stressful to read about for a lot of this book. You learn right away that bad things are brewing on the ship she's traveling on, and I was so concerned that she would end up exacerbating it. It makes sense that she would act this way though, based on her upbringing. Therefore, I can't fault the character of Charlotte for always acting in a way that fit her. It was nice to see her eventually grow as the novel went on.
Another weird thing was the pacing of the book. It says right on the back in big letters that Charlotte will be framed for murder, but that doesn't even happen until the last quarter of the book. I was thinking that would be a bigger thing throughout the whole novel. The book also started out very slowly. It took nearly half the book to get to the actually interesting stuff.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Torture
Minor: Racism
The heavy sexism only really comes into play in the last quarter of the book.