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Title: Not realistic....
Review: As a mom, I read this book to see if my children would like it,and I can usually read Newberry medal books for enjoyment. I must say also that I enjoy older literature, and enjoy historical fiction. But, this story is very hard to believe, unrealistic, contrived. The characterization is shallow and forced. An (1830's) 13-year-old girl, who was educated in England, belonging to a wealthy American merchant family would never talk, act or think the way this lass does! A native African sailor would also not speak the way the Zachariah character does. The scenes at the end with the girls family make a normal, average seventeenth century family from New England seem positively wicked! The plot has a lot of tension and action, but is so far-fetched as to be laughable. Poor choice if you are looking for historical fiction.The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
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