Making Waves

by Barbara Williams, Garen Thomas

Having survived the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, twelve-year-old Emily Brewer lives in Baltimore where she attends school but also encounters child labor, sweatshops, and the struggle of labor unions. By the author of Titanic Crossing.

Genres: Historical Fiction

215 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2000

Reviews

[Micaiah Keough · Rating 2 out of 5]

Making Waves
Barbara WIlliams

Rating: 2 stars

Read: 1-27 through 1-28 2014

Making Waves was an okay sequel to the great book Titanic Crossing.

I have to ask: Why wasn't Albert in it more!!!!!!????? He was in it for like four pages-maybe even only three pages! That's upsetting. I knew before I got the book that he was in it a little. But I really would have enjoyed the book SO much more if he would have been in it more. Okay…but reading the letters that he sent to Emily was sort of like having him in it-maybe. If Mrs. Williams had switched off the main characters between Albert and Emily- telling about Albert one chapter and then Emily the next- I would have liked it a whole lot better. Albert was a fun main character in Titanic Crossing. Having Emily around was fun too. I just really would have preferred the sequel (having now read it) to have more Albert in it.

Now the book was:

Boring at times. I was trying to read extra fast between the chapters that were wholly just the letters that Albert and Emily sent to each other (they became pen pals in the beginning of the book, which I'm glad about!), to get to the next letter. The time in-between was boring, but I liked the chapters when Emily was in school. Louise and Royal were fun to have in it.

I really like Titanic Crossing, and wish that Barbara Williams would have written another book about Albert Trask and included Emily Brewer in it-and it would have been much better. I would be ecstatic if Mrs. Williams would or would've written another book following Titanic Crossing about Emily's visit to Albert's in Virginia, where the book ends-Emily, Albert, Sarah (Emily's little sister) and Virginia (Albert's little sister) and Albert's Grandmother's handyman, Abraham, leaving the train station.

I hope that those who have read Titanic Crossing can see what I'm saying-that Albert should have been the main character or in it a lot more!!!! The parts of the letters/Albert in the end/and school are about the only things that made this book actually enjoyable.

And, P.S., I think that the age range would be for older kids, because the themes in the book are a bit mature for younger kids to understand such as: child labor laws, strikes, (a little girl gets her finger chopped off by a cutting machine in the book after being scared by a rat!!!! Even I found it disturbing (at 13), so how would younger kids feel!?), riots, and bad working terms for women and men. Overall, the book was definitely not as good as Titanic Crossing, (which I have read more than once, and I love it!).

[Amber · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Making Waves" is the sequel to Barbara Williams book "Titanic Crossing." It is historical fiction and is intended for ages 8-11 or Intermediate readers(I). It’s a story about 12 year old Emily who survived the sinking of the Titanic. She moves to Baltimore with her mother and begins a pen pal relationship with her friend and first love Albert who also survived the Titanic disaster. After getting established in Maryland Emily meets an Irish immigrant and child laborer. She writes Albert frequently as they both feel the same guilt and emotions about the sinking of the Titanic. After a talk with her mother, Emily tries to start to move on with her life, adjust to a new school and fight for a cause. It is then that her letters to Albert become passionate about the issue of mistreatment of children and third class passengers aboard the Titanic. Emily eventually gets involved in a demonstration to protest labor laws and stand up for what she believes in and of course trouble arises. Emily is passionate about taking a stance and helping the underprivileged and she learns many valuable lessons throughout this book. I found this book to be a bit disappointing. I only read it because it mentioned my beloved home town. I found that it was dull, the language fell short. For a children's book I feel it was a bit too involved and the topic is more suited for older readers. I don't think this book is as appealing to young readers as I thought it might be at first. There are a lot of themes that are not age appropriate and I find that the intended age may become confused or have problems following.