Ever since the farm failed, Flynn has had to take care of his baby sister. Now, on vacation, that means walking along the seashore for hours until Sally finds her share of shells. Then Flynn finds a big crate--a perfect pirate ship--and he and Sally climb aboard. The tide carries them away from land, and the boy soon realizes that they are in serious trouble. Several boats pass them and, as in Steven Callahan's novel (also titled Adrift ), Baillie's narrative shows how the successful survivor learns to make his own luck. Flynn rigs a sail from his shirt, and the children eventually make their way home. Based on a true incident, the novel offers a harrowing look at survival without losing sight of the protagonist's character. Flynn wrestles with his feelings for his sister and with the changes in his parents that give him an adult's responsibility before he's ready. Fans of The Cay and The Red Badge of Courage should be equally taken with this well-crafted yarn. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-7-- Walking along a beach, Flynn and his younger sister, Sally, discover a large crate and get it to float in a cove. Flynn imagines himself to be a pirate, but must resign himself to taking his whiny sister and her pesky cat aboard. When the box begins drifting out to sea, Sally refuses to abandon her cat, leaving them no other choice than to stay on the box and gravitate toward the horizon. The children suffer from overexposure to the sun, thirst, nighttime cold as well as boredom and fear. While trying to cope with these overwhelming problems, Flynn recalls happier times through stream-of-consciousness images and flashbacks and, while despairing of rescue, reevaluates his feelings for his father. In due course, after even more harrowing episodes, the children reach land and a rescue boat comes into view. While there seems to be a surfeit of perilous episodes, Baillie makes it all sound plausible. This is a survival tale set in Australia, but it is also the account of a boy realistically developing insight into his family and himself. While readers may empathize with his predicament, the story may be too introspective for a broad readership. --Phyllis G. Sidorsky, National Cathedral School, Washington, DC
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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