Windcatcher (Avon Camelot Book) (Paperback)

~ (Author) "Dad " Tony Souza said, "what's money for if you can't spend it?..." (more)
Key Phrases: dagger board, harbor master, iron chest, Swallows Bay, Money Island, Sachem Head (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Newbery Honor author offers a potent brew of mystery and adventure in this tale of an 11-year-old boy involved in a search for a centuries-old shipwreck. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-6-- Tony Souza, 11, uses his paper route earnings to buy a 12-foot sailboat that he takes with him when he spends part of the summer with his grandmother on the Connecticut shore. During his stay, he learns to sail and becomes intrigued by tales of buried treasure in the area. He and his grandmother learn more about the treasure, and he begins to piece together clues to its whereabouts. As he hunts, Tony encounters a couple who are illegally diving for the treasure, and they warn him away from their boat with an attack on his sailboat. After being lost in a storm, he puts together the final clues only to be captured by the villains and then, predictably, rescued in the nick of time. While this brief novel begins with a 1777 shipwreck that precipitates the modern story, the events of past and present are too neatly drawn together. The characterization and suspense of Avi's The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle (Orchard, 1990) are absent here. Even so, for readers in search of an accessible adventure story, this will provide satisfaction. --Barbara Chatton, College of Education, University of Wyoming, Laramie
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (September 1, 1992)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0380718057
• ISBN-13: 978-0380718054
• Product Dimensions: 7.4 x 5.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #638,064 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars In my eyes Windcatcher was a very good book, February 12, 2004

By	BlueBrothers038 (Sterling N.Y) - See all my reviews

Neither sail nor treasure hunt alone, which is something Tony, the protagonist, did not know when this story began. Windcatcher, an excellent novel, takes place in a fictional place called Swallows Bay, located on Long Island Sound, in the present day. Tony buys a sail boat called the Snark and goes to visit his grandma ware he takes sailing lessons from a girl named Christina. Then, accidentally he discovers a one hundred year old ship wreck that other people want for mysterious reasons and they chase him away. The reasons the strange people chased him away even Tony an intelligent, self relinent and brave boy could not figure out.

In my eyes Windcatcher was a very good book. Everything was very well explained like the descriptions of places and things, like Tonys little boat the Snark. Another thing that was done well was the setting placement. If I could change this book I would change the ending and make the book longer

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great, must read book, April 5, 1999

By A Customer

I read the book Windcatcher, by AVI. I thought it was an exellant book. It had a lot of action and suspense, and the book kept you on your toes. The book was about a boy who went to his grandmothers house for the summer. He brong his brand knew sailboat to to her house. One day he went sailing and he gets stuck in a storm. Then he gets shiprecked on a small island off the coast. Some how he has to get back to the main land orbe found. To find the outcome of this book read Windcatcher. The book is realistic fiction. It is about 120 pages long. I would recomend this book to young readers.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars JESSICA, November 6, 2006

A Kid's Review

Do you love adventure so much you would risk your life just for a thrill? In the historical fiction, Windcatcher, by Avi, the main character Tony Souza would.
Tony is an 11 year old boy who lives in 1990's Connecticut. He worked for a whole year delivering newspapers and now he could afford anything he wanted. But what should he get? The moment he laid his eyes on the Snark, he knew. A "Snark" is a mysterious, imaginary animal according to Tony's dictionary, and described his new sailboat perfectly. It was the perfect time of year to buy a sailboat, too. It was the beginning of summer and he had to go for a long, boring, 21 day stay at his grandmother's house along the shore. Learning to sail would help pass the time and would surely be an adventure right?
When Tony gets to his grandma's house, he meets some interesting people. Christina, is an expert sailor who gives Tony his first few sailing lessons. During one of their lessons, Tony sees a couple with digging supplies. For some reason, this makes him uneasy and tries to find out what they're up to. What he finds is an unsolved mystery of a captain during the 1700's who was lost at sea along with a boat full of treasure. So adventure-loving Tony sets sail after the couple hoping to find out if they had discovered the long lost treasure. But an unexpected storm appears and throws Tony onto an island. Matters get worse when the couple kidnaps him from the island and try to get him even more lost for following them. How can Tony, an amateur sailor, find his way home alive?
I recommend this book to kids ages 10-13 who love historical fictions and adventures. I really enjoyed this book, but I wish it was a little longer. Windcatcher is a story about a boy seeking adventure and a way to save his life.