Margreit Maitland’s, Runaway at Sea, is an action packed, historical fiction adventure. It captured the attention of my middle school students and is guaranteed to keep you eagerly reading, from start to finish. The author has finesse in creating real-life characters and a plot that puts you in the center of the action. A necessary purchase if you’re looking to instill empathy and compassion into others. I am looking forward to the next book.
~ Lori Mahoney, English Language Arts Teacher, Stanford Middle School, Plattsburgh, NY
Impressive debut by Margreit Maitland. The story draws you in on a nautical adventure through the eyes of a teenage boy who experiences hardship and tragedy on the high seas. Beautifully written with attention to detail in storytelling and well-developed characters.
~ Maggie Santagato, Long Island, NY
Runaway at sea is an adventure book that you don’t want to miss. I kept wanting to read more. With such vivid details it put you right there with the crew. But it also gives you a lesson to stand up for yourself. A true treasure of a book.
~ Barbara Steppe, Long Island, NY
Runaway At Sea does what every good read should: transport the reader to a different time and place. During your adventure, you’ll sail the seas and trek through the rain forest alongside 12-year-old Robert and his best friend Michael as they run from their problems. But as these boys begin their journey into manhood, they learn an important lesson: you can’t run away from your problems.
~ Mr. Edward Grosskreuz, English Teacher Mepham High School, Bellmore N.Y.
I received a copy of the newly-published book from the author. I must admit that preteen boys’ adventure stories are not my go-to genre, but I found myself fairly easily ensnarled in the story and was surprised when it eventually came to its conclusion. There’s definitely room for a sequel, or else the reader can use his or her imagination to figure out what happens next.
So imagine this: a twelve-year old boy, one of a handful of siblings living with their single mom in a seaside village in England, takes one too many beatings from his sadistic older brother before he decides to make a run for it. That “run” was onto a ship stationed in the harbor, and he crawled onto that ship in the middle of the night with his best friend. Both boys, having literally nothing to lose, figured they could hide out in one of the ship’s life boats and make an easy exit and the next port of call. Well, it turns out they boarded a British naval vessel and were promptly put to work.
This is a fast-paced adventure story that teaches quite a few lessons about life on the sea. It’s obvious that the author did her research, and one needs not to have read the Rime of the Ancient Mariner or Moby Dick to pick up on the lingo. I enjoyed this more than I anticipated I would.
~ Mary Donnelly
“Maitland cultivates a fast-paced story and expressive flavor in her writing that keeps the action nonstop and centered on the boys’ experiences and observations. As the story unfolds, middle grade readers receive important lessons about early immigrant experiences and motivations through the eyes of two young people who move into adulthood through a difficult coming of age adventure among adults.
Runaway at Sea is not only a story of survival or maturity, but a close inspection of early immigrant lives and adventure that personalizes the trials and confrontations of two teens who stowaway on a ship, bound for new lives.
Young fans of adventure stories will find the history easy to absorb against the backdrop of many different discoveries. The tale is highly recommended for middle-grade collections seeking high adventure, historical detail, and nicely developed, believable characters throughout. “