Escape from . . . the Titanic

by Mary Kay Carson, Nigel Chilvers (Illustrator)

"Many details within the informative, exciting narrative are based in history, and sidebars filling in the facts will bolster the story's believability for young readers...A good beginning for the Escape From . . . historical fiction series." Booklist

"With a prologue that spells out the issues on the Titanic, this book foreshadows disaster. Patrick Kelley, an Irish bellboy set to turn 14 on the ship, and Sarah Walsh, a young white passenger headed back to her family in Boston, are thrown together in an unlikely match, with little in common except their Irish backgrounds." School Library Journal

Patrick is an Irish bellboy working on the Titanic to help his family back home. Sarah is a passenger excited to return to America. Neither of them knows that they are about to embark on the most dangerous trip of their lives.

The unsinkable Titanic is not quite what Sarah expected. Instead of dining with movie stars, she finds herself having more fun in steerage with the family of her new friend, Patrick, a bellboy. He shows her all the secrets that the greatest ship in the world has to offer, like heated swimming pools and first-class cabins.
But then . . . disaster! The ship crashes into an iceberg, and water begins rushing into the lower decks. The Titanic is going down fast-into the deep, icy Atlantic. Can Sarah find her new friends in time? Can Patrick do his duty and also save himself? Will either of them manage to escape one of the deadliest shipwrecks in history?

Genres: Historical Fiction

146 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 25, 2022

About the author

Mary Kay Carson is an award-winning children’s nonfiction author. She has written more than thirty books for young people about wildlife, space, weather, nature, and history. Her recent non-fiction titles include Emi and the Rhino Scientist, about the Cincinnati Zoo's famous rhino mom; Exploring the Solar System, recipient of the 2009 American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Children’s Literature Award; The Wright Brothers for Kids; Inside Tornadoes; and the Far-Out Guide to the Solar System series. The author also gives presentations at schools and libraries about space, animals, history, and writing.

Reviews

[Jessica]

Sarah ska återvända till Amerika efter att ha besökt släktingar på Irland. Hon och hennes morbror åker med det nya fartyget Titanic. Patrick jobbar som springpojke ombord och han visar Sarah runt på det lyxiga fartyget. De hinner bli vänner innan katastrofen slår till och Titanic kolliderar med ett isberg och sjunker i det kalla Nordatlanten.

En blandning av historisk roman och facklitteratur för åldersgruppen 9-12. I slutet av varje kapitel finns en faktaruta som heter "Koll på verkligheten", där författaren kortfattat går igenom de historiskt korrekta uppgifterna. Ett kul och lätt sätt att få en liten historielektion tillsammans med en spännande berättelse!

Som vuxen reagerar jag lite på liknelser från filmen. Visserligen är Sarah och Patrick betydligt yngre (11 och 14) än Rose och Jack, och det här är förstås ingen kärlekshistoria, men Patrick har släktingar i tredje klass som han presenterar för Sarah och hon har mycket roligare tillsammans med dem än med sin morbror och hans affärsvänner. Det finns fler liknelser, men förmodligen har den tänkta målgruppen inte sett filmen, och oavsett så har det ingen större betydelse.

Boken är fint illustrerad i svartvitt av Nigel Chilvers och det finns fler böcker i serien "Flykten från..." men det här är den första jag läser.

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I was weeding, I found this series that looks like a copy or a book trying to ride the popularity of the I Survived series. I read both back-to-back to see what I thought. It's notable that both series start with the Titanic. Eleven-year-old Sarah is riding in second class with her uncle after taking her sink Nana back to Ireland while 14-year-old Patrick is a bellboy on the Titanic. After crossing paths as Sarah arrives on the ship, they keep seeing each other and become friends. With two different main characters, you get a fuller picture of the class differences on the ship, but it's a bit unrealistic that Sarah goes back and forth. I liked the Reality Checks includes at the end of every chapter to explain what's fact and what's historical fiction for the story. It made the story more believable to me. Due to the extra information, it took a bit longer to get to the action, but it makes sense because the book is ~40 pages longer. The storytelling isn't as exciting, but it gives more information for those interested in these types of stories. For fans of I Survived and Girls Survive.

[Catherine Germann]

Probably my favorite part is the Reality Checks that they do after each chapter. It's a short fun chapter book read.

[Juliet Luhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was really good and I learned a lot about the titanic!