Book Talk on Charlotte Doyle

Avi. (1990). The true confessions of Charlotte Doyle. New York: Avon Books, Inc.

Imagine you are living back in 1832.  You are 13 years old and are about to embark by yourself on a ship traveling from England to the United States, with no one but the wonderful captain and dirty, unkempt crew to keep you company.  This is exactly what happens to Charlotte in the historical fiction novel The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle.  Charlotte starts the novel as a prim and proper young lady (I know, you boys are thinking, “yuck, a girl book,” but trust me, it gets better) who is not used to the rough ways of the sea.  She slowly learns that Captain Jaggery is not the man he says he is.  There is a stowaway who is shot and killed by Captain Jaggery, a mutiny amongst the crew, and the cook Zachariah is whipped to death by the captain.  Charlotte decides to join the crew and ends up hating Captain Jaggery as much as the rest of them.  During a hurricane, someone (and I won’t say who) is murdered, and Charlotte is accused!  She is thrown in the brig, which is the ship’s jail, and awaits her trial.  Did Charlotte commit murder?  Will she be found guilty?  Who else will die on this voyage on the Seahawk?  You will have to read The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle to find out.