On the Titanic
A dramatic story set on the Titanic about a Chinese girl. Valora must get on the Titanic to reunite with her brother, Jamie. Valora and Jamie are acrobats and she has a plan for them to join a circus in America. To make her plan happen, Valora has many obstacles to overcome, first is getting on the ship, then she has find away around the Chinese Exclusion Act and to convince her seafaring brother to join the circus. Using her acrobatic skills, Valora easily sneaks aboard and finds the first class stateroom was to be her employer’s. With the help of a fashion designer, April, Valora seamlessly blends in the other first class passengers. On the voyage, she spends her time in first class pretending to be the “merry widow” and in third class trying to change her brother’s mind about the circus. Valora almost has everything figured out when the iceberg hits the ship. Can Valora get herself and everyone she cares about off the ship in time? This story is told in first person by Valora. Valora is a bold and resourceful main character. April, Jamie, and the other characters were also well written. The author does an excellent job describing the beautiful dresses Valora wears as the merry widow and describing the Titanic. The author did bend the history a bit as the classes did not mingle as much and the door Valora opens to get from first class to third class would likely have been locked. Fans of books that take place on the Titanic will enjoy this one.