Lost at Sea by Jonathan Neale

Lost at Sea by Jonathan Neale is about a vacation gone wrong. Eleven year old Orrie (Orchid), twelve year old Jack (Sky), six year old Andy, their mother and their mother's new boyfriend, Skip all set sail across the Atlantic on Skip's sailboat. During the night, only a few days out, Skip falls overboard, leaving the rest of the family to reach Antigua on their own. Jack and Orrie have to take over because their mother immediately slips back into a severe depression she's suffered with on and off for awhile. She can't even make it to the bathroom by herself, much less take care of the kids! So, Jack and Orrie take turns at the wheel of the boat, while Andy cooks and looks after their mother. Everyone is tired, but mostly OK. They think they can make it the 25 - 30 more days it will take to get to Antigua. The kids passed up their one chance at rescue - an oil tanker - because they were afraid of what would happen to their mother. The oil tanker warned them of a storm that was coming - a really bad one. Jack rushed around the boat, getting it ready for the worst, and that's when he told Orrie that Skip had ruined the motor. They couldn't rely on it at all. They'd have to sail the boat through the storm. When the storm is finally at its worst, it is too much for Orrie and Jack to handle together. Orrie falls and bruises, or even breaks, her ribs! She can't hold the wheel any longer. She, Andy, their mother, and Jack are all huddled together in the small wheel house in despair... will they ever make it to their dad in Antigua, or will they suffer the same fate as Skip?

This was an AWESOME book! It was full of adventure from page one! The story is told in alternating views, from Orrie to Jack. It's a nice way to see the girl's perspective versus the boy's. Needless to say, they have differing ideas about most of the events in the story. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good adventure!

Alone on a Wide Wide Sea by Michael Morpurgo

Alone on a Wide Wide Sea by Michael Morpurgo is about six year old Arthur, a boy sent from England to live in Australia after he is orphaned during WWII. He is separated from his sister, Kitty, and only has a key to remember her by. As he grows older, Arthur eventually forgets what the key goes to, and begins to believe that he may have even made up his sister in his mind. He is sent to live and work under the harshest of conditions with numerous other orphans on a farm in Australia. Eventually, he and his friend Marty are able to escape and live through young adulthood with a women in the Australian bush, helping her save and release hurt and orphaned animals. Through twists and turns, Arthur ends up working at a boat company in New Zealand and discovers a love for the sea. He transfers this love to his daughter, and they hatch a plan to sail their own boat to England to find his long lost sister, Kitty and finally discover the true meaning behind the key that Arthur still wears around his neck.

I absolutely loved this book. The first part of the story is told through Arthur's eyes, as a sort of memoir. Although it is fiction, it is very easy to believe that Arthur truly exists and that the reader has the unique opportunity to see his life and story through his eyes. The second part of the story is told in a similar way through the eyes of his daughter, Allie. This details her journey to England and what she finds when she finally arrives. I laughed out loud at parts of this and cried along with Allie during a particularly heart wrenching experience at sea. This is one of my favorites!