LitPick Review
Have you ever dreamed of traveling halfway around the world for summer vacation? In the unusually named book Brother XII's Treasure, seven English boarding school friends have such an adventure. One spring day in 1936, Ian, Sophie, Mark, Harriet, Molly, Leticia, and Posy receive a mysterious letter. Their Uncle Bert, aka Captain Gunn, wants them to spend the summer sailing the waters off British Colombia on his yacht. Their top secret mission is to find Brother XXI's treasure, eight mason jars filled with gold. As the eight companions sail from island to island searching for clues and meeting many interesting characters, they take their friendship to a new level.
Opinion:
If you like stories that mix adventure and historical fiction, you will find Brother XII's Treasure to be a very quick and enjoyable read. The book had a little bit of a slow start because all seven characters were introduced in great detail. But after the story really got started, I was pulled into the action and couldn't put it down.
Author Amanda Spottiswoode created very realistic, interesting characters. As a result, I was caught up in their adventures and rooting for them when things got tough. She also described the ship, scenery, and people they met in such detail that I left like I was watching a movie of the book as I read it. Overall, the plot of the book was good, with enough suspense to keep me reading, and a satisfying ending. However, I believe the book would have been better with fewer characters. There were a lot of them to keep track of, and the first few chapters were mainly devoted to introducing all of them. I think that this book is great for late elementary students to early middle school students. Overall, this book was a great read!
