Stowaway

Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: I thought very highly of this book. The content is exceptionally realistic, accurately describing sailing on an eighteenth-century ship. Stowaway is set in the 1700s and is about a boy named Nicholas Young. Tormented by his master, her runs away. Stowing away aboard the HMS Endeavour, the eleven-year-old Nicholas has to face many perils in unexplored lands, such as an island full of cannibals, perilous coral reefs, torrential storms, kidnapping, and a tropical port rife with deadly sickness. I enjoyed this book a great deal and would recommend it to anyone who loves history or adventure.

Rating:
Summary: I enjoyed it as an adult, and will recommend it to students
Review: It is 1:00 in the morning and after turning the last page of this book, I want to share with someone how remarkable I thought this story was.

Through the journal of the boy Nick Young, Karen Hesse has written a fascinating account of Captain Cook's voyage around the world. Reading Nick's daily journal not only taught me a lot about sea travel in the 1700's, it also allowed me to feel the fears, frustrations, wonder, and hope that must have been present in anyone undertaking such a trip. I'll never have a chance to experience first-hand all that Nick saw (and in some respects, I am grateful for that), but this book gave me a taste of what a wondrous adventure such a journey would have been.

Rating:
Summary: The very best book in the world
Review: Karen Hesse tells many storys.But the one I read is the best.The title is Stowaway.It's about a boy named Nicholas Young who was sent to a butcher so Nick could get over his soft heartedness for animals.So he stows away on a ship that is boltnizing(study of plants and animals).When he gets on a ship he's 11 and when he gets back to his home he's 14.
Mr.Bootie doesn't like Nick because he has a soft heart(Mr.Bootie doesn't).Nck throws over there food that is meat.
Captain James Cook's ship was named The Endeavour but it was fist named The Prembroke.
Ihope you will enjoy this book.

Rating:
Summary: Sail Away ...
Review: My 11 year old daughter and I have been reading this book all summer. While it is not as exciting as our last sail, The Wanderer by Sharon Creech (5+ stars), it has really grown on us. It is an amazing real life story of a young stowaway who must deal with all the day to day realities of living on and off an explorer's ship: scurvy, bullies, sickness, rats, cannibals, coco nuts, etc. It's written as a diary, as a 12 year old would have written and seen things -- in the late 1700's. Highly recommended to those interested in adventure, sailing and history. 5- stars.

Rating:
Summary: Great Birthday Gift
Review: My grandson is going to be 11 this month. I've decided that he's getting this book as his birthday book. Nicholas, the boy in the book, is 11 when he stows away on the HMS Endeavor, which is captained by Captain JamesCook. What better way to show an 11 year old what the future can be than to follow the exploits of another 11 year old in his trek around the world. I picked this book up to read because of the author. I loved OUT OF THE DUST by Karen Hesse. I figured that this one would be as good. It is, but in a different way. I loved how much it taught me about history and how it's sent me hunting for answers to questions it raised. The map on the inside of the front and back covers was invaluable in tracking the trip. And what a nice surprise at the end of the book to find out there was a real Nicholas.

Rating:
Summary: The Fictional Diary of a Real Stowaway
Review: Nicholas Young just had to get away from his family and the man he worked for, the butcher.He stole money from the butcher and ran away.In the summer of 1768 he became a stowaway aboard the Endeavour. The ship left London and Nick was gracious. It wasn't the perfect life that Nick bargained for however. The mean Mr.Bootie wasn't soft hearted towards Nick at all. Nicholas had to learn to live for himself. He became more tough and learned that running away from his troubles wasn't going to solve anything. He met new friends and met the Natives of many lands. This fictional diary tells of the adventure of Nicholas Young during his 3 year voyage aboard the Endeavour where he visited some of the most fascinating new lands of his time.

Rating:
Summary: stowaway
Review: Stowaway by Karen Hesse is a great book about a boy that is a stowaway on a ship.Nick,go's to many different islands and soon meets a native american boy they become very good friends and he gets to go on the voyage with Nick.But everybody comes down with bloodly flux while Nick takes care of the sick seamen people die one by one out of 80 seamen 8 are left!

Rating:
Summary: Stowaway
Review: Stowaway by Karen Hesse is an adventurous story about a boy named Nicholas Young who stows-away on a ship called the Endeaver. He pays three gentlemen three coins so they won't tell he's on the ship. When he is found,he is put to work. There is lots of other adventures in the story,so read Stowaway and i'm sure you'll have the ride of your life!

Rating:
Summary: Good research, bad plot.
Review: Stowaway by Karen Hesse was a very educational fun read. It included most of the elements which make a good book. The story is about the voyage of a young boy named Nicholas who stows away on a ship which he doesn't realize is going on an important expedition for the king. With a mixture of action, adventure, fun, friendship, and education, I found the book fun and easy to keep reading. The characters, plot, genre, and themes of Stowaway were mostly creative and interesting. Although I don't usually like historical fiction, I found this book very enjoyable.
The characters in Stowaway were very well described and detailed so I could almost feel each character's feelings. Every character served a big purpose, whether it be a captain, a scientist, or a Native boy. I found this book kind of disturbing because much more than half of the characters who I came to read about and liked either died or became sick. But the book follows very close to what actually used to happen and of course people had to die. Every character was illustrated in my mind so when that character did come to the plot, I immediately recognized it. The characters and personalities of Stowaway were one of my favorite parts of the novel.
The plot in Stowaway was one of the weakest parts of the book. It never got anywhere; the novel was just a series of mostly random events that, although interesting to read about, did not contribute to the story line and plot of the book. There really was no point to each event that happened, making me wish something relevant would happen. Instead of having just one point to which the author could create, she created many different scenes. With this type of plot, I found it annoying to read because I wanted there to be something that could be accomplished or solved at the end. Karen Hesse never set up any plot elements like this, making a very poor plot in the novel. I also realized while reading the book, that it most likely was not set up to be read by someone my age. Although some of the events may have been disturbing and harsh, Stowaway was definitely aimed toward younger children. One very positive thing to say about the plot is the amount of research and effort the author must have put into the story to make it so realistic and historical. Overall the plot was probably the weakest part of the novel.
Stowaway is a great example of its genre, historical fiction. Almost the entire read is realistic and very believable. After reading Stowaway I learned very much about the quests, diseases, boats, land, countries, people, and world of the late 1700's. Because of the abundance of research and historical facts in this book, it made up for the poor plot. Although the plot was boring, the educational parts of Stowaway almost made up for it because of how realistic it made the novel seem. There was one main scientist on the boat who obviously had the most research put into. He brought exotic plants and animals onto the boat from native countries. At least every chapter, he would find something new and interesting which Karen Hesse described in detail. Stowaway fit perfectly into the historical fiction section.
I enjoyed reading Stowaway although it could have been a much better book. Altogether, I would rate Stowaway three stars out of five. The reason this isn't higher is because of the plot. The characters and research were both amazing, which made it a pretty good read. I would recommend this book to any kid under the age of eleven or twelve because although it was educational, the writing was not very advanced and used short, easy sentences. If you enjoy reading historical fiction or you want to learn a few new things, you should read Stowaway.

Rating:
Summary: Stowaway
Review: Stowaway is a great book. It is about Nick who stowsaway on a ship that goes on a expedition around the world that took 3 years. 1768-1771. It is writen like a journal. If you like books about old ships you should read this book.