There was once a village bred by evil. On the barren coast of Cornwall, England, lived a community who prayed for shipwrecks, a community who lured...
read full description
reviews
Nov 25, 2011
Dayna
rated it: 
The first book in the High Seas Trilogy. In 1799, 14-year-old John Spencer of London falls in love with life at sea on his first voyage as a passenger on his father's merchant sailing ship. Then a storm claims the vessel and its crew. Washed onto a Cornish beach, John feels lucky, but soon finds himself in great danger. The nearby village of Pendennis supports itself communally through the practice of "wrecking": tricking vessels onto the lethal coastal rocks, then looting the remains.
More...
Jun 17, 2010
Tracy
rated it: 
This is one of those recommended books off of Guys Read that I have been getting for Ryan lately. I end up reading a lot of his books when he says they are good. He gives this 4 stars. He warns that there are a lot of sailing words, but you don't have to know what they mean, just skip them.
This is a strange little book, almost a horror novel for kids. It was quite creepy (in a good way), and tense. A dark story with lots of normal people gone bad. Living with how bad they've gone mak More...
This is a strange little book, almost a horror novel for kids. It was quite creepy (in a good way), and tense. A dark story with lots of normal people gone bad. Living with how bad they've gone mak More...
Oct 12, 2011
Lisa
rated it:
I'm torn about this book. It was certainly adventurous and exciting, but the subject matter was SO DARK and the people were SO EVIL!!! Wreckers deliberately lighting signals to make a ship crash on the rocks and then deliberately killing any survivors - this is a level of depravity so deep that I found horrifying and haunting. I really wouldn't have wanted to read this as a child nor will I recommend it to my children. Thankfully, there is a satisfying ending and some heroic and likeable cha
More...
Jan 17, 2011
Jenny
rated it:
John Spencer barely makes it to shore after his father's ship, the Isle of Skye, is shipwrecked. It was lured onto the rocks by a false beacon, and the villagers of Pendennis are responsible. John's father makes it also, but he is held captive. John is taken in by the local Laird, but doesn't know if he can be trusted. With only the help of the laird's neice, Mary, John must solve to plot of the wreckers before his father dies.
Oct 17, 2011
Manda
rated it:
Aug 23, 2011
Christie
rated it:
Pretty dark. I know it's about people wrecking ships on purpose, but still - way more gruesome than I expected. Lots of sailing jargon, but it doesn't distract from the story. Characters are inconsistent at times - one moment in mortal peril, then laughing and racing their ponies, and after having just met? The ending is a bit TOO happy or maybe just too quick. However, not quite as predictable as I thought it would be. Overall: interesting enough to finish, but only once.
Oct 10, 2011
Geokowgurl
rated it:
This book started out a little slow and I didn't think I was going to finish it, but by the middle of the book I was actually wondering how it would end and so I finished it. This would be a great story for 4th through 6th graders I think. It is a story of a boy, John Spencer, that survived a shipwreck. What he had to find out was if the wreck was accidental or murder. The adventure that he gets himself into is filled with twists and turns.
Jan 14, 2010
Kristi
rated it:
A very interesting spin on the typical pirate story. I liked it. I did wish that the author would have put in a diagram of ship so that I could really understand some of what he was saying. It all worked out. I just pulled out my very worn copy of the The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (if you haven't read it, DO!) and figured out where exactly the upper-main topsail was. :)
Aug 27, 2010
Alli
rated it:
Emma read this book and said it was REALLY good. I thought I'd give it a try. While I was reading it I kept thinking "I can't believe that Emma read this". It was intense and suspenseful. It had gore and murder and mystery and I didn't want to put it down. I'd definitely recommend the book.
Aug 17, 2008
Lea
rated it: 
I assigned this book as summer reading because I have a few reluctant boy readers in my class and I knew they would want something short, but I have to say that I was totally sucked into this book myself! John Spencer is accompanying his father on a trip aboard his father's trading ship when the ship wrecks on the coast near Cornwall. The crew is either killed in the wreck or murdered by the locals, John's father is missing (or held hostage?) and John is alternately chased by men with knives and
More...
Sep 12, 2011
Melissa
rated it:
Fast-paced action adventure. Chapter 1: here we are on a storm-tossed ocean, aboard a ship destined to crash on the rocks. I read it with a student at Oxford, my last act of rebellion before moving ;-)
Feb 24, 2011
Erin
rated it:
Teen John Spence is shipwrecked along with his father off the coast of England and finds the local inhabitants to be a much less than welcoming group.
RA Notes: Violence
RA Notes: Violence
Nov 29, 2011
Mark
rated it:
I liked it.
Lotsa gruesome details to skip when reading aloud. There actually were people who lured ships onto rocks so they could salvage the wreck.
Lotsa gruesome details to skip when reading aloud. There actually were people who lured ships onto rocks so they could salvage the wreck.
Jul 10, 2010
Sally
rated it:
Thrilling and nautical. Great relationship development. Interesting premise and well-told story. Another gem from the fantastic young adult section.
Jun 17, 2009
Joan
rated it:
Boys who are good readers would especially enjoy this story of villagers who lure ships to crash on the shore, loot the ships, and leave no survivors.
Jan 20, 2010
Glorious.Clio
rated it:
This was a good read- it was about a boy who survived a shipwreck, but then had to learn to survive something more sinister...
Oct 08, 2011
Epic Reads
rated it:
In the beginning it was exciting but as it progresses i kinda got bored
The characters were weak but overall its a fair story
The characters were weak but overall its a fair story
Dec 26, 2007
Brent
rated it:
Great adventure story set in the age of sail. If you have read and enjoyed Avi's True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle or Pirates by Celia Rees give this book a try. If you like it you're in luck because there are two more in the series The Smugglers and The Buccaneers. Lawrence also has several others in a similar style. Often regarded as a teen author, don't overlook this stuff as an adult, especially if you enjoy historical fiction or adventure.
More...
Aug 12, 2008
Kristen
rated it:
Written for young adult readers, this is an adventure from the high seas. Along the coasts of Southern England, live people who after dangerous storms seek out the wreckage of sailing ships on the beaches to salvage for profit. In one such town, the inhabitants go even further by luring the ships onto dangerous shoals and killing any crewmen that manage to make it to shore alive. A young first time sailor, John Spencer, is one of the survivors of the wreck of his ship. Although he lives through
More...
Jan 25, 2010
Kelseylethco
rated it: 
Interesting, but I thought it was predictable until the very end.
