Commended for the 2011 Best Books for Kids and Teens
Robin Starveling, aka Noah Vaile, is scooped off the streets of seventeenth-century Bristol, England, and dragged onboard a ship bound for Virginia by the murderous William Thatcher, who needs a servant with no past and no future to aid him in a nefarious plot to steal gold. Starveling fits the bill perfectly since he lives nowhere and has no parents. Aboard the ship, Starveling makes friends with a young cabin boy, Peter Fence.
Together the two boys suffer through a frightening hurricane and are shipwrecked on the mysterious Isle of Devils. They solve the ciphers embedded in emblems found in Thatchers sea chest, which has washed up with the wreck, then make their way through gloomy forests and tortuous labyrinths to a cave on the shore that houses a wizard-like old man. Beset by danger and villainy on every side, they finally discover the old mans identity and unearth a treasure that is much rarer and finer than gold.
1 of 1 copy available
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
March 26, 2012 -
Formats
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Kindle Book
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OverDrive Read
- ISBN: 9781770705586
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EPUB ebook
- ISBN: 9781770705586
- File size: 943 KB
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- ATOS Level: 5
- Interest Level: 6-12(MG+)
- Text Difficulty: 3-4
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Reviews
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January 1, 2010
Gr 7-9-In Plymouth, England, in 1609, William Thatcher snatches an orphan off the streets, renames him Robin Starveling, and proclaims that the boy will serve him in Virginia. Onboard ship, Robin soon discovers that Thatcher carries clues to a "Golden Treasure" in his sea chest, and that he has planned a stop on the way to Virginia that will lead him to his fortune. Robin eavesdrops on Thatcher's conspiratorial meetings with the senile Sir Thomas Boors and foul-smelling Proule and makes his own plans to find the treasure. He and the cabin boy, Peter Fence, sneak into Thatcher's chest to try to decipher the clues. Soon the ship sails directly into a hurricane that all too conveniently strands them on the Isle of Devils, exactly where Thatcher planned to be. Robin and Peter salvage the chest and spend their days unlocking the secrets of the emblems within. Through a series of events, the boys end up on a neighboring island, where they finally discover the treasure. The plot moves at a snail's pace, and readers will tire of the overdone descriptions of gross bodily functions, irritating characters, and the abuse the adults inflict on Robin."Wendy Scalfaro, G. Ray Bodley High School, Fulton, NY"Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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