Mone, Gregory. Dangerous Waters.

Mone, Gregory.    Dangerous Waters.       Macmillan/ Roaring Brook Press 219p $16.99      978-1-59643-673-2       ms/jr       Good  Historical Fiction

Patrick finds an opportunity to work on board the Titanic to impress his brother, who is a trimmer (coal shoveler) in the engine room. Patrick is trying to dismiss his own preferred intellectual pursuits in order to "be a man" in a physically demanding job.  Titanic heads out on her maiden voyage, and Patrick is transferred above decks, as he cannot keep up with the physically demanding post of trimmer.  After he captures the eye of the wealthy Harry Widener, Patrick graduates from emptying spittoons to becoming Widener’s personal assistant. 

Another passenger, the unsavory Mr. Rockwell, has his eye on one of Widener’s rare books, which he is convinced contains the secret to infinite wealth.  He attempts to recruit Patrick to let him "borrow" the book, offering him a large sum of money to betray Widener.  Patrick is faced with a moral dilemma, which soon becomes insignificant in the face of disaster.  Titanic’s tragic ending is handled with sensitivity.

In the wake of Titanic’s demise, Harry Widener’s mother donates a substantial sum to Harvard to start a library in honor of her son. (This is based on actual events.)  To bring the story full circle, Patrick, now an older, educated man himself, places a volume of Francis Bacon, once the center of a controversy between Widener and Rockwell, to Harvard to be incorporated into the library’s collection.

Titanic-Fiction, Historical Fiction                   --Hilary Welliver

Lawson, Julie. Ghosts of the Titanic.

Lawson, Julie.  Ghosts of the Titanic.       Holiday House, 2011. 169p.   $16.95.  ISBN 978-0-8234-2423-8     elm/ms            Realistic Fiction          E-BN           

This story illustrates that life is not always what you think it is. Twelve-year-old Kevin Messenger first learns about the Titanic disaster when his class studies and visits the Titanic Artifact Exhibition that is touring North America. He learns about the people on the ship and the hardships imposed on the passengers. His interest is further enhanced when his father learns that he has inherited a house in Halifax, Nova Scotia, from Angus Seaton, a crew member of the Mackey-Bennett (the ship that rescued people from the Titanic).  While they are at the house in Nova Scotia, Kevin starts researching the disaster. He also starts hearing from a ghost named, Annie, who is trying to find out what happened to her son, Michael.  It seems that Kevin is the only one hearing the voices, and this leads to some disciplinary action by his parents for bad behavior.  The way the author ties the story together right up to the ending will keep readers entranced and refusing to put down the novel.
SPOILER ALERT: Don’t read further if you don’t want the ending.
The fact that Angus Seaton rescued a small boy named Michael but couldn’t save his mother is heart wrenching. When he was loading Michael’s drowned mother onto the boat, Angus distractedly placed a small pocketbook into his pocket.  Events turned hectic and he forgot about it.  That error meant that Michael was never identified.  However, Margaret Dyson took care of Michael and adopted him after her marriage to George Messenger, Kevin’s grandfather.  Kevin learns the facts and answers Annie’s questions, and all ends well.        Subject: Titanic Disaster

Linda McNeil