Overview
In 1898, twelve-year-old Ben rescues a near-drowned girl from a shipwreck off the Outer Banks of North Carolina. ALthough the girl, named Teetoncey, becomes part of his family, she will not utter a single word.In this first novel of a trilogy, eleven-year-old Ben rescues an English girl from a shipwreck off the Outer Banks of North Carolina; and, though she becomes part of his family, she never speaks.
Synopsis
In this first novel of the Cape Hatteras Trilogy, twelve-year-old Ben rescues an English girl from a shipwreck off the Outer Banks of North Carolina; and, though she becomes part of his family, she never speaks.
Barbara Troisi - Children's Literature
The killer sea slams the Malta Empress aground one stormy night in 1898 along the North Carolina coast, bringing out the lifesaving station crew to search for and rescue victims. Sole survivor of wrecked barkentine is a small and fragile lass that's cold as ice, "blue as a week-old mackerel," and covered with sand. Located by Ben O'Neal's golden Labrador, Boo Dog, Ben carries the limp figure to his house where the mystery of who she is and where she came from remains unsolved for almost a month. It is a perfect scenario for Ben's mom Rachel who longed for a daughter and sees this as an opportunity to nurse the girl back to health. But Teetoncey (Tee for short) is silent, diagnosed a vegetable. The plot thickens as the O'Neals seek to stir memories and awaken the "silent as a stone" twelve-year old orphan. Nothing jolts her ability to recollect until she is lead into the stormy darkness of the boat's grave "to unlodge the wild night from her mind." A reference map locates sites described in the story and the first chapter of Book 2 entices readers to continue into the second title of the "Cape Hatteras Trilogy," Teetoncey and Ben O'Neal. Originally published in 1974, the new editions features fresh jacket art that will attract readers searching for mystery, light humor, seaside history, strong characterizations, and intrigue in this fast-paced, exciting adventure novel that has male and female protagonists roles. 2004 (orig. 1974), Harcourt, Ages 9 to 12.
Editorials
Children's Literature
The killer sea slams the Malta Empress aground one stormy night in 1898 along the North Carolina coast, bringing out the lifesaving station crew to search for and rescue victims. Sole survivor of wrecked barkentine is a small and fragile lass that's cold as ice, "blue as a week-old mackerel," and covered with sand. Located by Ben O'Neal's golden Labrador, Boo Dog, Ben carries the limp figure to his house where the mystery of who she is and where she came from remains unsolved for almost a month. It is a perfect scenario for Ben's mom Rachel who longed for a daughter and sees this as an opportunity to nurse the girl back to health. But Teetoncey (Tee for short) is silent, diagnosed a vegetable. The plot thickens as the O'Neals seek to stir memories and awaken the "silent as a stone" twelve-year old orphan. Nothing jolts her ability to recollect until she is lead into the stormy darkness of the boat's grave "to unlodge the wild night from her mind." A reference map locates sites described in the story and the first chapter of Book 2 entices readers to continue into the second title of the "Cape Hatteras Trilogy," Teetoncey and Ben O'Neal. Originally published in 1974, the new editions features fresh jacket art that will attract readers searching for mystery, light humor, seaside history, strong characterizations, and intrigue in this fast-paced, exciting adventure novel that has male and female protagonists roles. 2004 (orig. 1974), Harcourt, Ages 9 to 12.—Barbara Troisi