Alone on a Wide Wide Sea by Michael Morpurgo RB

Published in 2006 in London                 

Alone on a Wide Wide Sea is split into two parts: Part One- The Story of Arthur Hobhouse and Part Two- The Journey of the Kitty Four.

The Story of Arthur Hobhouse follows the life of 6 year old Arthur until his adulthood. He tells the story about when he got sent from an orphanage in London (together with other orphans) to go and live with a family in Australia. He doesn’t know why but he has a lucky key round his neck that he thinks that his sister Kitty gave to him when they were split-up. On the journey to Australia he makes friends with a boy called Marty who stays with him throughout his early life. As he grows up he becomes attached to the sea and has many various experiences involving different aspects of it and how it changes his life. His love of the ocean encourages him to become a boat builder. The Journey of the Kitty Four is about Arthur’s daughter, Allie, sailing to England in Arthur’s boat the Kitty Four in search of Kitty and solve the mystery of the key. Does she succeed?

I found this book very entertaining as the events in it were so thrilling. Michael Morpurgo captures all the detail in his description which makes the action so exciting and really fast moving. I think this is a very good read which I would recommend to all ages as it is quite moving but also has some action. The story shows us that the way people are treated, either good or bad, affects their later life. This contributes to the history of the world and encourages people to help.