Does anyone remember this book? I swear I didn't just dream this, I remember having an actual book in my hands and writing a book report on it and everything. But now I can't find it anywhere
There is a book that I remember getting years ago for Christmas. I think I was about 12 maybe, so it would be about 10 years ago. I think it was called Stowaway on the something or other, I think maybe the ship's name had to do with lightning, or something storm related at least
. There's this girl, and her mother is sick. The doctor thinks that a cruise and some time in France or some other part of Europe might do her good, so the father and mother leave, but the girl is sent to stay with her aunt and bully cousin in Liverpool, I believe. She sent to them shortly before her parents sail, I think it was supposed to be a temporary thing until she could be sent to a boarding school, because I remember something about her father sending money with his letters, although that might have just been for the aunt keeping her.
After a short while of staying with her cruel aunt and her abusive son the girl (and I can't for the life of me remember her name), decides that she will stowaway on her parents' ship until they are too far out to turn back, and then she'll approach them. She disguises herself as a boy to run away.
At the dock she's hidden her hair again and asks some people where the ship her parents will be sailing on is, so she can see them off. On of the sailors deliberately misleads her, as we find out when she runs off, as his partner berates him for it, saying that he didn't know the boy had any intent of stowing away and might really just have been wanting to see off his parents off. The other sailor says if that's the case then the worst that happens is he waves off the wrong ship, and if not than he'll learn a lesson when the crew found him. His partner then says no one deserves a trick like that, not on ship with a captain known to be so cruel or so dangerous a crew.I think it was a slave ship, maybe?I remember something about Africa being mentioned as a destination.
Of course she does manage to stowaway, and is subsequently found, although thankfully the crew take her to be a boy as well, and some of the more sympathetic crew members convince the captain that they cook could use a hand in the kitchen. Some of the crew actually end up befriending her and teaching her useful things about sailing and the like. I remember she was actually pretty close to the old navigator and he'd teach her about the stars.Then there's a storm and the ship sinks, with the girl being the only apparent survivor. She washes ashore somewhere, and builds and shelter and lives off of strangler figs and other fruit she gathers. I also remember she got sick at some point, and she had saved a baby gorilla or some ape of some sort earlier, and then the mother watches out for her while she's sick.
Eventually the girl is rescued, taken back to her aunts town, and tells her aunt she'd been staying with a friend while she was missing. Apparently they hadn't told her father about her running away, and he had sent a letter saying that they'd decided to stay in France since it really did seem to be helping her mother, and they wanted her to join them there. I remember that she wonders what they would have done if she hadn't turned up again soon after that letter. I also remember that it ends as she's going to pack her bags as her ship sails in a few days. Her cousin confronts her, saying she's lying, she's too tanned and a lot thinner. He goes to hit her when she refuses to answer, but of course after all she's been through she's gotten a lot stronger and grabs his arm and twists it, telling him never to touch her again before going to her room and leaving him stunned and staring after her.
If I recall correctly the version of the book that I had was a paperback, it was white, with a gold banner at the top and bottom with the author's name, which I can't remember either, and some award or praise on the banner at the bottom. The title was just over the image, which I think was the shape of Africa with the girls face and images such as the ship and the storm with in the shape.
Does anyone else remember this book? Or am I just crazy?