The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
by Avi
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Read in November, 2006
Middle school girls who know nothing whatsoever of history will undoubtedly find this book utterly enthralling. I won't deny that the story is paced well and the prose is well constructed. The problem is, it has no internal integrity. Books with talking animals and intergalactic travel require less suspension of disbelief. Charlotte makes a completely implausible personality shift. An etiquette-obsessed, "well-bred," snobbish, wealthy Victorian girl, in a fit of remorse, suddenly r...more
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This is a wonderful book about a proper young lady who is turned into a hardened sailor. It follows the high adventures at sea theme, but instead of the protagonist being a cabin boy or male stowaway, it is a girl. Charlotte Doyle comes to the story with classist stereotypes and biases and leaves the story so profoundly changed that she can no longer go back to the confines and restraints of being a young lady that she had so embraced before. Instead, she finds them unbearable, and the book ends...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
Ages 10 & up
Set in England in the 1830’s, this high suspense historical fiction story takes place on a ship carrying thirteen year-old Charlotte Doyle, a young lady of proper upbringing, home to her family in Providence, Rhode Island. There is high suspense as the tale unfolds and Charlotte is accused of murder. Charlotte learns a valuable lesson about not judging people based on first impressions or positions of authority. The book has won many awards including the Boston Globe – Horn Book Award, Newbe...more
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Read in February, 1993
If I read this today, I might like it, but I hated it as a sixth grader. It is a Newbury Honor book, but I had no interest in boats or sailing, and this book talks about that a lot because it takes place on a ship. I had a hard time keeping track of all that language. On top of that, the story just wasn't that interesting to me at the time. This could partly be because I was assigned it to read over like February vacation and my mother made me read a little every day. It was good that she d...more
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recommends it for:
Anyone who loves action, adventure and mystery
Not every thirteen-year-old girl is accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty. But I was just such a girl.
In 1832 thirteen-year-old Charlotte Doyle boards the Seahawk for the voyage from England to America where she will be reunited with her parents. Believing that she will be traveling with two other families, Charlotte arrives at the dock to discover that she will be the only passenger—and the only female—on the long journey. Evil, danger, mutiny, and, ultimately, courage a...more
In 1832 thirteen-year-old Charlotte Doyle boards the Seahawk for the voyage from England to America where she will be reunited with her parents. Believing that she will be traveling with two other families, Charlotte arrives at the dock to discover that she will be the only passenger—and the only female—on the long journey. Evil, danger, mutiny, and, ultimately, courage a...more
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Read in February, 1992
recommends it for:
Adventure-hungry middle school girls.
Avi is an incredibly accomplished author, and this smoothly written work is well-constructed with a good dose of adventure. However, I disliked the heroine intensely and found it extremely implausible that a young lady of her disposition and upbringing should so utterly and permanently reject nearly all societal mores and roles she was taught to revere in such a short time period. Moreover, it was absolutely unbelievable that the crew would accept her offer to work as a sailor. I thought Char...more
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Read in February, 2008
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Read in January, 2008
I had previously read this book in elementary school, around fifth grade and loved it. With nothing else to read, I decided to pick it up again. The book is about Charlotte Doyle, a wealthy Victorian girl completely schooled in the morals of being a young lady. She sets sail on a ship as a passenger, traveling to America from her school in London. Eventually, after certain circumstances arise, she decides to abandon all of her previous ideas on society and become a part of the sailor crew. Not v...more
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Read in September, 2007
recommends it for:
any young girl who would like to read an adventurous book
I read this book in Middle School and picked it out just because of the pretty picture of the girl on the cover. When I was in Middle School I didn't like reading at all and only picked out a book because our teacher brought our class to the library to pick a book to read for our next book report. I still remember thinking how terrible life was for me because I had to read a book! When I started reading, I loved it and kept reading and reading. I was not a book lover at all but this book mad...more
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Read in February, 2008
recommended to Sandra by:
Book Club
I have to confess that I was less than thrilled to be reading this for book club.
I did, however, come to enjoy the book quite a bit. It kept my riveted to my seat and I finished it in about 3 hours.
Charlotte leaves Liverpool for Rhode Island to meet back up with her family after school let out. Considered a lady-in-training, she was appalled at the conditions she would be sailing in. As the voyages wears on, attitudes shift and she sheds her uppitiness to become part of the crew. ...more
I did, however, come to enjoy the book quite a bit. It kept my riveted to my seat and I finished it in about 3 hours.
Charlotte leaves Liverpool for Rhode Island to meet back up with her family after school let out. Considered a lady-in-training, she was appalled at the conditions she would be sailing in. As the voyages wears on, attitudes shift and she sheds her uppitiness to become part of the crew. ...more
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Read in January, 1996
When I was about 12 or 13 years old I read this book. Before this book, I had read all other required material but was not a passionate or avid reader. After this book I have a passion for reading and literature that is very strong. I love the adventure and the imaginative dreams that follow such an adventure. There are so many books that my mind is open up to now, and I really cannot imagine the idea of not loving to read.
If you have a pre-teen girl, that does not like to read currently... ...more
If you have a pre-teen girl, that does not like to read currently... ...more
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Read in January, 2008
recommends it for:
children who will grow up to read Harlequin romances
This book is also part of my Newbery quest. To be honest, I don't know how this book won. It reminded me of nothing so much as a sanitized Moll Flanders for children (no prostitution). It has that antiquated-pulp feel, implausible and sensationalistic. No child of her age in that era would have been sent to travel alone without a chaperone, there would have been a backup plan if anything went wrong, neither the story nor Charlotte's physical and personal changes could have occurred in the le...more
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Read in January, 2003
recommends it for:
teens, lovers of piratesque books
I have read this book so many times. Once I start it, I absolutely can't put it down. I started out borrowing it from my library all the time, until finally I found my own copy. It's my favorite book by Avi, who is truly a very gifted storyteller.
The book focuses on 13-year-old Charlotte Doyle, making the passage (alone) from England to Providence, Rhode Island, to be reunited with her family. They've taken care of all the arrangements, booking her passage aboard the Seahawk. But fro...more
The book focuses on 13-year-old Charlotte Doyle, making the passage (alone) from England to Providence, Rhode Island, to be reunited with her family. They've taken care of all the arrangements, booking her passage aboard the Seahawk. But fro...more
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Read in June, 2008
recommended to Annalisa by:
Traci Gosman
An excellent Newberry Award. Strong heroine, hate-invoking villain, sympathetic side characters, and an interesting tale. In this story we find a 19-century 13-year-old girl about to board a ship to America where her family awaits her arrival. Once on the ship things go array and the girl must decide where her conscious and allegiance sways her. Sailors are known for outlandish tales and here we have a tall tale to compete with them all. How much is truth and how much is the fascination of an im...more
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Read in April, 2008
Adventurous and thought provoking!
I love stories of sea voyages because they are so foreign to me. I will never have the experience of endangering my life on a cargo ship (I hope) but this story particularly drew me into the adventure.
The story line is about a proper American girl crossing the Atlantic and who finds herself in life-threatening situations both from man and nature. I loved the underlying theme of coming to realize that the way you were brought up is not necessarily the only ...more
I love stories of sea voyages because they are so foreign to me. I will never have the experience of endangering my life on a cargo ship (I hope) but this story particularly drew me into the adventure.
The story line is about a proper American girl crossing the Atlantic and who finds herself in life-threatening situations both from man and nature. I loved the underlying theme of coming to realize that the way you were brought up is not necessarily the only ...more
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Read in April, 2004
13-year-old Charlotte Doyle's exciting 1832 journey from England to her home in America is captured in the diary she keeps along the way. At the start of the trip, she is an innocent, uptight schoolgirl. She is the only female aboard the ship.
When the crew rebels, Charlotte first sides with handsome, civilized Captain Jaggerty, but she soon realizes that he is not an honorable man. She joins the crew as a seaman and works and suffers alongside them until she earns their respect. A murd...more
When the crew rebels, Charlotte first sides with handsome, civilized Captain Jaggerty, but she soon realizes that he is not an honorable man. She joins the crew as a seaman and works and suffers alongside them until she earns their respect. A murd...more
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Ok, probably a lot of people will laugh at me for this, but when I first read this in 4th grade or so, I didn't like it, primarily because I was disappointed in the ending. The main reason I didn't like the ending was because, in my view, Charlotte made the wrong choice. She could have gone home and worn pretty dresses and satin gloves, but she chooses to stay on this boat with unrefined sailors, get her complexion ruined by the sea air, and get calluses on her hands from working hard and climbi...more
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Read in January, 1990
recommends it for:
People who liked Treasure Island
I loved this book when I read it many years ago.
The year is 1832. 13 year old Charlotte Doyle and has been attending school in England learning to be a proper lady. She is to sail to America on the Seahawk with two other two families where she will join her family in Providence, Rhode Island. But things do not go as planned, and when she finds herself alone at sea with the captain and crew of the ship. Mutiny is in the air and Charlotte must learn who she can really trust and decide just wh...more
The year is 1832. 13 year old Charlotte Doyle and has been attending school in England learning to be a proper lady. She is to sail to America on the Seahawk with two other two families where she will join her family in Providence, Rhode Island. But things do not go as planned, and when she finds herself alone at sea with the captain and crew of the ship. Mutiny is in the air and Charlotte must learn who she can really trust and decide just wh...more
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Read in May, 2008
I read this over the weekend. I'd always heard good things about it but never thought it would interest me. It was such a fun read! I was most impressed with how true the writing is to the voice of the main character. It was easy to believe that I was getting the point of view of a young genteel girl. Whether the plot is believable or not, I didn't worry too much about. Even though there was an appendix with schematics of a ship, I still had a hard time picturing where on the ship things w...more
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