Paperback ©2002 | -- |
Mentally ill. Fiction.
Brothers and sisters. Fiction.
Sailing. Fiction.
Survival. Fiction.
Orrie and her brother Jack are traveling across the Atlantic on a yacht owned by their mother's boyfriend, Skip. When Skip is swept overboard and their "clinically depressed" mother retreats into silence, the siblings must sail the ship on their own. Orrie and Jack make some baffling choices, but the brief novel contains a lot of action and will appeal to reluctant readers.
Kirkus ReviewsCan three children and their catatonic mother survive crossing the Atlantic in a sailboat? Lots of dubious events swirl through this quick-paced thriller as three young children who have never sailed embark on a boat manned by their mother and her new boyfriend, a seasoned seat-of-the-pants sailor. However, despite his experience, he has just time enough to teach the kids to steer and improbably disable the engine before falling overboard. The three children must take care of mum, who has a history of mental illness and takes to her bed, overwhelmed and silent. Jack and Orrie, the two older kids, speak in a clipped storyline that never hedges. Improbably, they don't turn back, deciding to cross the Atlantic where their biological father awaits. They alternately stand watches around the clock on their near month-long journey while Andy, the seven-year-old, cooks. And even more unlikely, they eschew rescue by a freighter, facing a Force Ten (violent gale) storm and, yes, surviving. And guess what? Mum wakes up just in time to determine they are (only) 200 miles off course. There is little more than the adventure to recommend this, as author Neale plumbs no depths of the real effects of fear or fatigue. There are some nuances of character, e.g., when Andy tells unresponding Mum a story, or when Jack sails on, fantasizing about a girl he barely met. But this is a gripping narrative, and its simplicity may be ideal for children with trouble reading. (Fiction. 8-12)
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)Neale's (<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">The Cutlass and the Lash) first children's novel offers readers a white-knuckle read. Twelve-year-old Jack and 11-year-old Orrie, who alternate as narrators, can't trust their divorced mom to make sound decisions because of her long history of mental breakdowns. When she and her boyfriend, Skip, announce that Jack, Orrie and their seven-year-old brother will be sailing with them from the Canary Islands to Antigua in Skip's small craft, the news thrills Jack, who has decided Skip is "all right," but distresses Orrie. A diehard sailor ("I don't like engines. I like a sail. A man, the sea, and the wind"), Skip pours a can of Spaghetti-Os into the fuel tank to render the engine inoperable just before a storm strikes and sweeps him out to sea. Their mother almost immediately sinks into a catatonic state, leaving Jack and Orrie to take turns at the helm, battling fatigue and wrestling the wheel to keep the craft on course during another fierce storm. They also can't ask for help, thinking that if adults discover their mother's condition, she'll lose custody of them and be "put in the snake pit [where] they'll fry her brain." Jack is level-headed and reserved, while Orrie favors drastic expressions (after embarrassing Jack, she notes, "Winding my brother up is like shooting babies after you nail their feet to the floor"). Though the plot repeatedly strains credibility, kids who crave adventure tales will likely enjoy this rocky ride. Ages 10-14. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Apr.)
School Library JournalGr 3-6-Twelve-year-old Jack is thrilled when he learns that his mother and her new boyfriend are planning to take him, his younger brother, and his 11-year-old sister, Orrie, across the Atlantic on Skip's boat. Orrie is horrified. Skip is old-fashioned, and so determined not to let anyone rush the voyage that he pours Spaghetti-Os into the boat's engine so they'll have to rely on the sails. Then one night, during a ferocious storm, he is washed overboard. When the children's mother learns what has happened, she falls into one of her frequent deep depressions, becoming helpless and unresponsive. Orrie and Jack continue on toward Antigua. Alternating between the older siblings' point-of-view, Neale has written a tense, exciting adventure story with likable, believable main characters. Readers will learn a little about sailing from Jack's diagrams of the boat and his descriptions of how he learns to navigate and steer. The setup is a bit far-fetched and hard to swallow, and the book ends a little abruptly with a safe arrival in Antigua, where the children's father is waiting. Still, this action-packed story captures the siblings' efforts to keep the boat on course day and night, and their attempts to care for their mother and younger brother. A fast-paced novel that will appeal to both boys and girls.-Ashley Larsen, Woodside Library, CA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Horn Book (Thu Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2002)
Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)
School Library Journal
Voice of Youth Advocates
Orrie and Jack don’t know much about sailing. One day they are basking on a beach in the Canary Islands where their mum has taken them on holiday. Two days later they board a small yacht, along with their little brother, their mother, and her new boyfriend, Skip, to sail across the Atlantic on a lark. Then Skip, the owner of Good Company, falls overboard. Something is wrong with their mother. She won’t leave her cabin. Orrie and Jack are used to taking care of her, but now it is up to them to navigate the thirty-six-foot boat to Antigua safely.
Lost at Sea, written in the alternating voices of two very smart, funny, and real kids, tells the story of a family working through their problems. It is also an intense and gripping adventure at sea that will have readers on the edge of their seats to the very last page.