If Ever I Return Again [Hardcover]

Corinne Demas (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up

I could not write for many days. Write! I could not walk or eat or even talk except to moan and wish that I were home or dead or anywhere but here aboard this ship.

Twelve-year-old Celia Snow regrets the day she convinced her parents to allow her to accompany them on her father's whaling expedition in 1856. She thought it would be exciting, exotic, and thoroughly grown-up. Instead, she is terribly seasick and, even worse, homesick. But what's done is done, and Celia knows she cannot expect to see her home on land again for several years.

As the months go by, the excitement of the expedition turns the miserable voyage into a true adventure. On the day Celia sights her first whale and watches the boats row out to the hunt, she realizes that she will see and experience more aboard the Jupiter than most girls will in a lifetime. She will learn to navigate, and she will see the incredible beauty of the Sandwich Islands and feel the biting cold of the Arctic. Best of all, she will fall in love.

While life aboard ship is not easy, Celia learns everything she can about being a captain's daughter. In her heart, though, she still dreams about the day she will return home again. But when disaster strikes, Celia must gather all her courage, strength, and newfound knowledge in one desperate attempt to salvage the expedition and the lives of those she loves.

When we left New Bedford it was cold but clear, a fair wind, Papa said. Mother was in her cabin arranging things, but I wanted to be out on deck. I kept my eye on the sweet shoreline till it disappeared from me, bit by bit, till it was just a line. I held it there in my memory long after it was gone. Papa passed me his spyglass and through it I could see what had been lost before. Sometime in the world maybe there will be a spyglass so strong I could see not just New Bedford, but all the way back home, to you in Eastham, or even as far as our cousins in Salem, and beyond.

Books for the Teen Age 2001 (NYPL)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

At the helm of Demas's (The Disappearing Island, reviewed p. 79) historical novel is a courageous and intelligent narrator, 12-year-old Celia Snow. Setting sail on her father's whaling ship in 1856, Celia chronicles her two-year voyage in chatty letters home to her cousin and dearest friend, Abigail. Celia's letters pit her independent spirit against her proper mother, who insists on embroidery and Latin studies even at sea. But although Celia more readily soaks up her father's lessons on navigation, the novel's seaworthiness comes in part from the evolution of the relationship between Celia and her mother, who proves to have hidden strengths. The crew and other cast members prove salty,including a sinister first mate named Mr. Grimes; the "despicable" Jerusha Doane, a girl whom Celia meets in Honolulu; and Nate, the attractive third mate. Like the whales hunted by her father's crew, the exploits become larger than life as Celia battles storms, sickness, sorrow and the threat of mutiny. The epistolary form brings with it certain contrivances and some plot developments hinge on unlikely turns; this lacks the freshness of the similarly themed if simpler Good-bye for Today (reviewed above). Nevertheless, the relative novelty of the maritime setting may prove enough to steer fans of adventure and history through this journey. Ages 10-up. (June)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8-Celia is 12 when she goes to sea with her mother and sea-captain father in 1856. The book is written as a series of letters to her cousin Abigail in New Bedford, MA. As whaling journeys took two to three years, letters, which were exchanged during meetings with other ships, played an important role in shipboard life. Celia is realistically portrayed as she deals with homesickness and seasickness, a crush on the 19-year-old third mate, and her disgust at the smell of boiling whale blubber. She learns to calculate the number of whales to be caught before the ship can head home, and to navigate. The brutality of 19th-century life at sea is illustrated in the depiction of the birth and death of Celia's baby sister, her father's death, and her mother's brave plot to retain control of the ship and take the captain's body home. Brought closer to her daughter by the tragedy, Celia's mother begins to share stories of her youth and life as a sea captain's wife. The girl's fresh, bright perspective is starkly juxtaposed with the harshness of whaling life and a conniving crew. Her effervescent personality as expressed in her correspondence makes this a highly accessible work of historical fiction.
Valerie Diamond, Enoch Pratt Free Library, Baltimore, MD
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 197 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers (May 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060287179
• ISBN-13: 978-0060287177
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,238,480 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Corinne Demas is the author of two collections of short stories, three novels, a memoir, a collection of poetry, a play, and numerous books for children. She is Professor of English at Mount Holyoke College and a fiction editor of the Massachusetts Review. Before the year 2000, she published her books under the name Corinne Demas Bliss.

Corinne grew up in New York City, in Stuyvesant Town, the subject of her memoir, "Eleven Stories High: Growing Up in Stuyvesant Town 1948-1968". She attended Hunter College High School, graduated from Tufts University, and completed a Ph.D. in English and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. She lived in Pittsburgh for a number of years, teaching at the University of Pittsburgh and at Chatham College.

She lives with her family in Western Massachusetts and spends the summer on Cape Cod. You will find more information at her website: www.corinnedemas.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars history comes to life, June 29, 2000

By 

Carole S. Adler - See all my reviews

This review is from: If Ever I Return Again (Hardcover)

Demas does a wonderful job of bringing twelve year old Celia back to life from the 1850's though her letters to her cousin about her trials and adventures on her father's whaling ship. Celia is a lively character, warm and loving but wilful. It is enjoyable to see the details of the whalers' struggles with the elements and their luck in the dangerous pursuit of their livelihood. The surprising conclusion to the book is satisfying.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent book which captures the hearts of readers., July 17, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: If Ever I Return Again (Hardcover)

The letters from Celia to Abigail brought out a clear view ofwhat was going on in Celia's life on the ship. The heart-warmingletters but intense plot kept me reading until the end. At some points, I would imagine myself as Celia, writing letters to my dear cousin Abigail while eagerly waiting to get home. And at other times, I would imagine myself as Abigail, reading them. This is a great book by a great author.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars more than i expected!, March 27, 2001

By 

Maryam (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: If Ever I Return Again (Hardcover)

I really liked this book. It was a book you keep yourself hanging on. The only fault that I found with it was that Celia was a little too young to be so romance struck. I expected much less when I began reading. I guess it's one of those books that you are happy read!