Customer Reviews

Convicts (The Curse of the Jolly Stone Trilogy)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Tom Tin's family is in debt. His father, a sailor has been taken away to a debtors prison. If that's not bad enough Tom got framed as a theif. His sentence is six I forget how many years on a slave ship. All that's on Tom's mind is escape.

This book can be read by a child. I don't see why people think it's for young adults. I didn't have any trouble with it.

Forgot to mention that every character throughout the book has been interesting. A great twist at the end with the character "The Smasher". This was a very enjoyable read.

It is hard for me to agree with the editorial reviews' comments that the events in this book are too coincidental and unbelievable... I was immediately and completely wrapped up in the adventure and desperation of this boy's story. This is an amazing read! Lawrence is able to strike a wonderfully tense balance so that when the story is morbid it's also charming, and when it's terrifying it's also exciting. I read a lot of young adult books (I work in a library) and this was -- by far -- the best one I have read all summer. I think the ages recommended for this book should be more like 12 - 16 just because the story is so edgy and the content pretty mature, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone from 10 to 110 for swashbuckling fun.

As an adult who loves books for kids and young adults, I found this one slow and boring to begin with. It soon became depressing and silly. The characters are shallow and unlikable. Tom Tim almost became likeable in the end, but too little too late. The violence against his little friend is unjustified and gruesome. I would not recommend this book to my children, or any adult friends.

This is the best book ever! As soon as I started this book, I couldn't put it down. The great amount of detail and an easy to follow story makes this a great book. But this book is deffinately a 12+ book because it can be dark and gruesome at times. (I'm twelve)
I'll be sure to pick up the other two books tommorow.

I purchased this book for my preteen son and picked it off his shelf this morning...I didn't put it down until I was done. While a younger child could read this book, I would say that, due to the content, it is best suited for the 12 and over group. Loved it and will be out to buy the next 2 books tomorrow. It was moving, disturbing, touching and beautifully spun. Need more!

Not much to add to what has already been said. While the book is well written I found myself not caring about Tom Tin. To me he just wasn't very bright. And then there is Smasher. Like I didn't have that situation figured out in a hurry. Would have been a better book without him. But then the author would have had to refigure the whole story line. Even so..........

I would still recomend that young people read this book. There is no denying the truth of the kind of situations presented. Certainly highlights that modern day inhumanity is nothing new. Might even help them appreciate how much easier life is now.

Although the book could be dark at times, it was also very captivating. I found myself desperately hoping that Tom would escape and live happily ever after. Even though the book is about Tom's experiences, I was just as interested in and attached to Midge. Lawrence has written a book that could be read by almost any age from some upper-elementary schoolchildren to high school students. Lawrence's "Author's Note" at the end was helpful in comparing the book's historical accuracy.

This book tells the story of a young boy, Tom Tin, and all of the hardships that he goes through in his life. In the beginning, Tom is forced to move to a very small home because of a man named Mr. Goodfellow. Once they arrive Tom's father is taken to debtors' prison and Tom is forced to take care of his mother, who is depressed and crazy. Tom tries to earn enough money to get his father out of jail and luckily he comes upon a large diamond. Tom loses the diamond in a grave robbery and all he can think about is going back to find it. Tom is knocked unconscious and is thought to be a person called "The Smasher". He even gets sent to a prison boat for "The Smasher's" crimes. While on the boat he meets a young boy named Midgely. All Tom and Midgely think about is escaping.

I though this book was a real page turner. I couldn't put it down. The characters are close to my age, so I could tell what they would be feeling at this time in their lives. I really liked the plot and I think that Iain Lawrence had a very good idea when he thought of The Convicts.

The Convicts

"Seven years, I thought. I couldn't last that long. Why, I couldn't last the six months the Overseer had hinted at. If Weedle didn't kill me, I would die from sickness, or wither away from the sheer misery of the place. I dragged my feet until Midgely bumped up on my heels. I whispered at him, `Do people escape? Has anyone ever got off?'" This is an excerpt from, The Convicts, by Iain Lawrence, an epic novel of mystery and adventure. In this story Tom Tin, 14, tells about how a man Mr. Goodfellow-who isn't a good fellow at all-ruins Tom's life, and family. It isn't enough that he ran them out of their home and refused to let Tom's father, a captain, sail on any ship but his; Mr. Goodfellow hauls Tom's father off to debtors' prison.

Tom sets off after Mr. Goodfellow in hopes of rescuing his father and gets caught up in a tangled web of events that lead him deep into his past. Somewhere in the middle of Tom's misfortunes, he is mistaken by a gang of "urchins" as a fierce criminal, the Smasher. Tom gets thrown into prison during his collision with the Darkey's gang. Tom's saga is so twisted and bizarre that no one in his trial believes him. The judge claims he has seen Tom before, but as the Smasher, and doesn't even let him finish recalling all that happened to him. Tom is sentenced to a fate far worse than death.

Iain Lawrence uses serious events that could and often did happen in nineteenth century England to tell the tale of Tom Tin. The Convicts is fast-paced and takes many, sharp, unexpected turns, that enthrall the teens and adults who read it. I highly recommend this book, you will find yourself escaping to a world full of mysterious hardship, and action, especially at sea. Discover how Tom struggles through his disrupted life and unravels a mystery he didn't know existed, in Iain Lawrence's, The Convicts.

By: K.J.