The Secret Journey

The Secret Journey was very interesting to read! It is about a twelve-year old girl named Emma Bolton whose mother is deathly sick. The doctor advises Mr. Bolton that the only way to save his wife is to have her have lots of fresh air and complete rest by sailing to France. Emma's father arranges the trip on the ship Wayfarer...but decides to leave Emma with Aunt Matha and her Cousin Odolf, who she really hates. Emma is determined to go with her parents rather than to endure living with Odolf for months. She then decides to sneak aboard Wayfarer and to stay with her sick mother. So she disguises herself as a boy and rushes on Monday midnight to the dock. There, when she asks which ship was Wayfarer, a man purposely instructs her to the wrong ship. The ship was Black Lightning, the most dangerous and worst ship anybody could ever go on. Emma realizes too late that she was on the wrong ship and she is discovered. She then decides to keep acting as "William", ship's boy for the Captain Issac Bacon. Suddenly, a storm causes a shipreck and she is the only survivor as she is marooned on the coast of Africa. She learns how to survive and it is very interesting for I like 'shipwreck stories'. I'm sure anybody would like this exciting book! It's very fast paced and very enjoyable to read!

The Secret Journey is a fantastic book. It starts out when Emma's mother is sick and has to move to warmer climates. The only problem is that Emma's father won't let Emma go. That means she has to stay with her horrible cousin Odolf. Emma will do any thing not stay with Ololf. So Emma disguises herself as a boy. She sneaks on to a ship which she thinks is the ship with her parents on it. It turns out that she is on the worst slave ship afloat! Then a storm comes and Emma gets marooned on the coast of Africa. There she only has her wits to keep her alive. The theme of this book is don't give up.Anyone who likes adventure would love this book.

Peg Kehret has again written a wonderful adventure novel for children. The story begins in england. When 12 year old emma is sent to live with her aunt and atrocious cousin,Odolf she knows that she's got to get away from them so decides to get on board the ship where her mother and father are sailing on. so she dresses in her cousin's clothes and boards a ship. But little does she know that she's boarded the wrong ship which illegally smuggles slaves from africa. when emma is found out she's taken for a boy and made to work on the ship and for all the ruffians who call themselves shipmates. But the ship is caught in a storm and sinks andeveryone drowns except Emma who lands off the coast of Africa and learns to survive with the help of gorillas, trying to get home. this is a wonderful story which i highly recommend.

I throughly enjoyed this book about 12 year old Emma Bolton. When her father decides to take her sick mother to France to get better, Emma is told she can't go on the trip. She is sent to her Aunt's to live, but doesn't stay there long. Trying to find the ship her parents are on, she ends up on a rough slave trading ship, and from there the adventure begins. Working as a cabin boy, she learns about the workings of a ship. Tradegy strikes when the ship sinks off the coast of Africa, and she is the only survivor. Her resourcefulness, and courage get her through 4 months in the jungle before she is rescued and taken back to England and finally to France to be her mother. The author gathered research material on ocean tides, chimpanzees, and jungle survival. The author did outstanding job of making this fictional story seem real. The courage found in the girl throughout the story, is inspiring for everyone. The story is told to the reader by Emma, and even when she was sick, the story still maintains the first-person narrative. I would recommend this book youth from ages 10-14 (upper elementary to lower middle school). It would make an excellent addition to any media center or classroom.

Disguised as a boy, twelve-year old Emma stows away on a sailing ship. Emma is determined to reunite with her mother who is ill and traveling from London to France for rest and recovery. She soon discovers that she has boarded a slave ship heading for Africa and captained by an evil man. When a storm at sea destroys the shop and she is stranded on a distant African shore, Emma must use her courage and resourcefulness to survive. The Secret Journey is a thrilling, exceptionally well written adventure novel that will hold immense appeal for young readers ages 8 to 12.