LitPick Review
68 Knots by Michael Robert Evans is a novel about eight teenagers who spend their summer sailing off the coast of Maine. Arthur, Dawn, Jesse, Joy, Crystal, BillFi, Marietta, and Logan begin a summer of sailing aboard a beautiful schooner with Captain McKinley and his crew. In a series of seemingly disastrous and quick-moving events, McKinley shows his true colors as a pompous jerk aboard the ship; the counselors desert the crew and sail home; and McKinley commits suicide. The eight teenagers are left, stranded on a sailboat with little sailing experience. After several panicked hours, the crew decides not to abandon ship but to continue the adventure they came to camp for. In the 68 days ahead, each young man and woman learns the experience of sailing a ship, making friends, saving lives, finding romance, and discovering themselves.
Opinion:
68 Knots is an exciting adventure novel, but not from page one. At the beginning, the story moves too fast, the characters are barely introduced before McKinley dies and they are left alone. However, Michael Robert Evans writes in a cyclical way, the story comes full-center at the middle, where action-packed adventure has you turning every page. Each character has his/her own story and mysterious past; some are more likable than others. Arthur is reliable, consistent, the leader of the crew; Dawn is spiritual, her willingness to find a common-ground in every argument is a great asset to the team; Jesse is physically strong but emotionally torn by a devastating past, he hides behind a mask of colors in the novel. Joy is incredibly religious and desperately trying to spread God's will among her cabin mates, but realizes that God may be found in different ways; Crystal is strong willed and slightly standoffish but is softened by her fellow peers; BillFi is an orphan with a special gift that leads the group to many victories; Marietta is a dark presence on the ship; and Logan's... well, Logan's unique story will have you loving him by the end.Reading 68 Knots is an experience that will have you waiting impatiently for a summer experience of your own.
