Fourteen-year-old Emily boards an over-crowded ferry in Sumatra. When the boat sinks, she’s trapped by hundreds of panicked people. She finds...
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reviews
Dec 11, 2008
Brandii13
rated it: 
This was a very good book. I liked it a lot becaue it's different from what i usually read. It is about this girl Emily who has to go to Indonesia becasue both her parents are pediatricians. Emily if from boston though. She starts to get a little jealous when her parents pay more attention to their patients than to their own daughter. Emily then finds out bad news. One of the children that her parents were treating died that day. Emily was very upset by the news. Her uncle was in town and Emily
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Jul 24, 2011
2003- This book is based on a 1995 ferry accident that happened in Malaysia. By interjecting the main character, Emily, an American living in Malaysia on board, we get to see what it was like for the lucky ones- those who could swim. Emily, angry at her parents for bringing her around the world while they try to heal the sick children of third world countries, decides to go visit her uncle, who is visiting a nearby island. She never suspects the ferry ride won't make it to the other shore. The b
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Mar 21, 2008
Tawny
rated it:
Author: Elizabeth Fama
Title: Overboard
Genre: survival
Publication Info: Dell Laurel-Leaf. New York. 2002.
Recommended Age: 12 and up
Plot Summary: Emily Slake is a ninth-grader who has been living in Sumatra for the last two years. Her parents, both doctors, moved there as part of World Physicians for Children. Emily is expected to help out in the clinic. She has no friends and is miserable because of the heat and humidity. Her parents seem to have no patience wi More...
Title: Overboard
Genre: survival
Publication Info: Dell Laurel-Leaf. New York. 2002.
Recommended Age: 12 and up
Plot Summary: Emily Slake is a ninth-grader who has been living in Sumatra for the last two years. Her parents, both doctors, moved there as part of World Physicians for Children. Emily is expected to help out in the clinic. She has no friends and is miserable because of the heat and humidity. Her parents seem to have no patience wi More...
Nov 07, 2007
Susan
rated it:
Good enough that I book-talked it within a week to my 5-8 (5th-8th grade) club within a week after I read it. The subject is rather unusual. An American girl, Emily, and her doctor parents live in Sumatra. Her parents are always working and she has been enlisted, like it or not, as a sort of assistant at the medical facility, and has been forced to grow up somewhat fast because of this. Her parents really treat her more like an orderly than a daughter. After an especially bad day when a patient
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Jan 30, 2011
Dotty
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Emily Slake and her physician parents are living in Sumatra and Emily is tired of always helping the parents. And lonely while they work. So in a moment of rashness she decides to join her uncle. It’s only a ferry ride and shouldn’t be hard and she could surprise him. But Emily didn’t count on the ferry beginning to tilt and start to sink. They started handing out life vests .... read p. 34... “She opened her eyes again, and now the captain... to end of chapter.
Feb 27, 2011
Ginny
rated it: 
Very good book. I finished it in one sitting. I wasn't sure I would like it, but once I got into it, I couldn't put it down. It is on the darker side of fiction, as there is a tragic ferry accident with mass fatalities. However, Elizabeth Fama does an excellent job of describing the physical and emotional toll that Emily (and Isman) endure as they swim for their lives.
One of my students e-mailed Mrs. Fama with questions, and Mrs. Fama wrote my student back within two hours with More...
One of my students e-mailed Mrs. Fama with questions, and Mrs. Fama wrote my student back within two hours with More...
Feb 11, 2011
Felishaa '
rated it: 
so far its not that good! i mean its good but could be better, for me anyway! i just wish i could read a little more faster so that it could get to the action and drama! ctfu! anyway like i was sayin its not as good as i though it would be but its still has a little spark to it, thats if u can get into the story and foces!
Jan 19, 2012
Anna
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The story line in the book was good- it read very quickly because after the introduction, it is non-stop action. My only disappointment was that the main character would be disappointed in the opportunity to see new places.
Dec 27, 2010
Shayma
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i loved this book it was truely heart warming touching and pulling but it was a graite insparational moving book and i will always love it i wish it had a sequel id read it right away wonderfull writing also.
Dec 04, 2008
Sooo dramatic and sad i mean there are locked in lockers under water about to drown and shark attacks and people trying to drown their selves! Good job Elizabeth Fama!
May 16, 2009
Kate
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Gripping and hard to put down. So much fun to read, and yet I was so anxious through it all! Great for middle-school readers. Fama is clearly a huge talent.
May 22, 2011
Megan
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It was too short, the characters didn't have enough depth, and I wish that there could have been some kind of reunion with her parents at the end of the book.
Nov 15, 2009
Annamarie
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Read this book in a day. A very quick read! One of my favorites, very adventurous, suspensful, and loving all tied up into a random fast book :)
Oct 12, 2011
Bekah
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An introspective book about a girl who is left to survive after a boat sinks loosely based on real events described at the end.
Sep 20, 2011
Audrey
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A suspense filled story about a girl and her challenges against the sea, and her struggle to survive.
Feb 05, 2009
Jamie
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This was a really good book based on survival, i recondmend it to anyone
Jun 08, 2011
Allie
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I think I was expecting a lot more. It wasn't as good as I thought it would be.
Dec 30, 2008
Hansini
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It was one of the best books ever!!! I learned never to loose hope!!!
Aug 07, 2010
Jhona
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Jan 09, 2008
Casey H
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I like this book because it really kept my interest. i am not really much of a reader but i really enjoyed this book and have already recommended it to a couple of people. This book is about how hard it is to struggle to be alive. Its about this girl who was on a boat and it capsized and she was in the water and had to struggle to stay alive for more than 27 hours. This book taught me to never stop trying, and that if you keep trying hard enough you will achieve what you want.
Jun 03, 2008
Linktherose999
rated it:
this book is like kinda like the titanic they all get on a boat they all have a good time then somthing goes wrong and the boat sinks and she's stuck in the midddle of the ocean for like 10 days and she was looking for her friends well she found some of them but not all of them but they find a island and they send out a sos i think and she get saved
Jun 02, 2009
Celestasaurus
rated it:
She goes overboard.
She's lost and alone.
The water is freezing.
She doesn't know how much longer she can hold on.
She's getting tired of swimming, swimming, swimming.
How long can her endurance hold?
Every minute a struggle for survival.
Her troubles multiply as she's faced with sharks, whirlpools, and no rest.
She's lost and alone.
The water is freezing.
She doesn't know how much longer she can hold on.
She's getting tired of swimming, swimming, swimming.
How long can her endurance hold?
Every minute a struggle for survival.
Her troubles multiply as she's faced with sharks, whirlpools, and no rest.
Aug 12, 2008
Kathryn
rated it:
this book was real to me just for the fear of being on a boat that sinks and being stranded in an ocean with real live sharks. AAAAh! Anyway, it was great to find someone who could see through the aversity of the situation and push forward with a great attitude and still be willing to help others along the way
Jun 03, 2008
this book was good. the reason i gave it a 3 star cuz, the book did not have alot of detail. i wish that it had more to it. this book took me for ever to read it. i didnt have the patince to read this book. i almost gave up on it, but i didnt. i think that ppl who read this book will like it.
Sep 08, 2008
Kaylynn
rated it:
I didn't care for the end. The book started out weird, but you needed the introduction to Emily and who she was. Her survival and the things that realizes while in the ocean was great, but then you feel like you are left hanging.
May 03, 2008
Shelley
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Dec 16, 2009
Based on a true story. The story of 14 year old Emily's fight to survive, and how she keeps a young Muslim boy alive, after an over crowded ferry capsizes in the Indian Ocean. Courage, cross-cultural, logical thinking, female.
