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Summary
Summary
Barry O'Neill is journeying to New York on the Titanic 's fateful maiden voyage. He's homesick and worried about the Flynn boys traveling in steerage who have threatened to throw him overboard. Little does Barry know that a struggle with the Flynns is the least of the dangers that await him. This suspenseful young adult adventure story is based on the true and terrible events that occured as the Titanic sank. "A dread sense of the inevitable drives this taut disaster story-and makes it nearly impossible to put down."-- Publishers Weekly
Author Notes
Eve Bunting was born in 1928 in Maghera, Ireland, as Anne Evelyn Bunting. She graduated from Northern Ireland's Methodist College in Belfast in 1945 and then studied at Belfast's Queen's College. She emigrated with her family in 1958 to California, and became a naturalized citizen in 1969.
That same year, she began her writing career, and in 1972, her first book, "The Two Giants" was published. In 1976, "One More Flight" won the Golden Kite Medal, and in 1978, "Ghost of Summer" won the Southern California's Council on Literature for Children and Young People's Award for fiction. "Smokey Night" won the American Library Association's Randolph Caldecott Medal in 1995 and "Winter's Coming" was voted one of the 10 Best Books of 1977 by the New York Times.
Bunting is involved in many writer's organizations such as P.E.N., The Authors Guild, the California Writer's Guild and the Society of Children's Book Writers. She has published stories in both Cricket, and Jack and Jill Magazines, and has written over 150 books in various genres such as children's books, contemporary, historic and realistic fiction, poetry, nonfiction and humor.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-9Readers fascinated by the lore surrounding the sinking of the Titanic will likely enjoy this exciting, suspenseful, and romantic version of the tragedy. Fifteen-year-old Barry, a privileged, upper-class Irishman raised by his grandparents while his parents were off in China, is bound for America to join them at last. Class conflict comes aboard, too, in the form of Frank and Jonnie Flynn, who blame Barry's grandfather for their forced departure from Ireland via steerage. Frank's threats of revenge add a layer of fear to Barry's on-again, off-again relationship with their sister, Pegeen, as the plot steams steadily toward its inevitably icy climax. The final hundred pages of the book describe post-collision confusion that escalates toward chaos, including Barry's gallant attempt (in vain) to save Frank's life. He does succeed in saving Pegeen, and the two of them end up on the overturned inflatable life raft and are among those few rescued the next morning by the Carpathia. Lots of foreshadowing and hints of the supernatural (Watley, Barry's first-class steward, was born in a caul, which is said to have given him second sight) add interest, as does an interesting range of supporting characters.Joel Shoemaker, Southeast Jr. High School, Iowa City, IA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
A dread sense of the inevitable drives this taut disaster story-and makes it nearly impossible to put down. Only moments after 15-year-old Barry O'Neill boards the Titanic in Queenstown, Ireland, the final port of call before the Atlantic crossing, he learns that the ship narrowly missed a collision at Southampton-a "bad omen," says a fellow passenger. Watley, Barry's steward in first class, claims intuitive knowledge that the voyage is ill-fated, while another uneasy passenger notes the shortage of lifeboats and refers to a novel written years earlier about an eerily similar ship called the Titan that sinks after colliding with an iceberg. Barry, understandably, is on edge-and so is the reader. When disaster finally strikes, Bunting (Spying on Miss Müller) unfolds the terrifying events in gripping climactic chapters. Barry acts nobly, risking his own life to save Pegeen, a girl from steerage class with whom he has fallen in love, and her brother, a ruffian with a longstanding grudge against Barry and his wealthy family. It's well-wrought historical fiction, but lest anyone forget, a brief afterword reminds readers of the horrifying and very real toll of the tragedy. Ages 12-up. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Traveling first class on the 'Titanic', fifteen-year-old Barry O'Neill becomes intrigued with Pegeen, a young girl traveling to America in steerage. Barry encounters many of the notable people on board and learns some of the well-known facts and legends about the ill-fated ship. Besides knowing the inevitable tragic outcome of the story, readers will also find the rest of the story predictable. From HORN BOOK 1996, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
From a familiar event, Bunting (Train to Somewhere, p. 65, etc.) creates a gripping story that will have readers struggling right along with its hero on the doomed Titanic. Barry O'Neill, 15, leaves Ireland, where he's been living with his grandparents, to join his parents in New York. He sails in first class on the largest oceangoing vessel in the world, the Titanic. Also on board, in steerage, are Barry's worst enemies, the fighting Flynn boys, who have threatened to throw him overboard; with them is their gentle sister Pegeen. From the outset, Barry fares badly with the Flynns; in the meantime, his steward--born with a caul--predicts disaster for the ship and its occupants. The one positive force is Barry's crush on Pegeen and her reciprocal interest. When the ship begins to sink, Barry witnesses the other passengers' disbelief and jocularity, and then their panic or (more rarely) stoicism. He makes a desperate attempt to find Pegeen, who is trapped with hundreds of others in steerage until all the lifeboats are launched. Suspense, adventure, romance, and a protagonist who comes of age under terrible circumstances combine in a novel that survives the tragedy at its center without diminishing it, and somehow remains upbeat. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Gr. 6^-9. Fifteen-year-old Barry O'Neill is traveling from Ireland to New York on the Titanic. He is heartsick about leaving the beloved grandparents who raised him for the last 10 years and apprehensive about rejoining his parents, who have been in China. He's also worried about the Flynn brothers, arch enemies traveling in steerage who have threatened to throw him overboard. Foreshadowing of impending disaster winds through the early narrative: a psychic steward tells Barry of visions, and a superstitious passenger counts and re-counts the lifeboats. What sets this tale apart from other recent novels about the disaster (for example, Titanic Crossing [BKL My 15 95]) is Barry's growing awareness of the injustice of the class system that ultimately doomed most of the steerage passengers. With so many characters, most are reduced to a few identifying quirks, but Bunting accurately and dramatically describes the ship's sinking and, at the same time, immerses readers in the many human tragedies. Perfect for middle school, this fast-paced story will satisfy readers looking for the human element in the Titanic's history. --Debbie Carton