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One of the most exciting books I've read in quite a while is Eve Bunting's SOS Titanic. Against a framework of well-researched details about the doomed ocean liner, Bunting has created the story of 15-year-old Barry O'Neill. Barry has been raised by his beloved grandparents in Ireland (where Bunting was born) but is traveling to New York to join his parents, missionaries who have been living all over the world, places they felt were unsuitable for their son.
Barry's family is wealthy, so his quarters on the Titanic are luxurious. However, he is attracted to Pegeen, a poor girl from his hometown, one of the passengers in steerage. While their budding romance adds to the drama of the plot, it also helps readers understand the strict class distinctions of the day and the huge differences in accommodations aboard the Titanic-differences with life-or-death consequences.
Barry's terrifying adventure in SOS Titanic is a great choice for summer reading and will no doubt prompt kids to learn more about the disaster.
Alice Cary is at work on biographies of Jean Craighead Goerge and Katherine Paterson.
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