The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle

Most Helpful Review

"This was an entertaining book - I’m a parent and I read it in three days. It was very exciting and well written. HOWEVER, the overarching themes present are to my mind inappropriate and disturbing. For example: all wealthy people in this book are portrayed as evil or nitwits, including Charlotte’s parents. Lying is fine (this comes into play at the end of the book). Cliche feminist undertones - a 13 year old girl can suddenly do almost anything veteran sailors can, though she’s never lifted a finger before in her life.Things really unraveled for me at the end of the book, and the surprise twist was an abomination. (Spoiler ahead) The 13 year old girl is changed by her experience and the solution presented at the end is that she runs away from home, back to some sailors who are hopefully loyal to her now but just over a week prior were okay with her being hanged for a crime she didn’t commit. Parents, before you hand this to your kids, read the last chapter and take a look at the portrayal of the parents and the runaway scene at the end. Do we really want to send a message that running away from home is a plucky option for a 13 year old? This solution was overly simplistic from a literary standpoint anyway - the main character needed to successfully wrestle with her new identity and integrate it with her old self, not abandon her family after an insanely traumatic two month sea voyage."