68. Forget Me Not by Sue Lawson

Forget Me Not By Sue Lawson
Published March 2012 Walker Books

From the publisher:

"I am filled with the worst feeling. Everyone says it is the safest, most luxurious ship in the world, but something about it is extremely unsettling." Evelyn Gilmore does not share her brother Thomas’s excitement about travelling on the maiden voyage of the luxurious Titanic. For Evelyn the ship is taking her away from everything she knows and loves. For Thomas it is taking him to his new life. How could they know what the trip would bring?

As 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, I can tell you now that this will not be the only Titanic book I read this year (in fact I have 3 more on my pile right now!).

We follow the journey of Thomas and Eve Gilmore as they leave Southampton to start their new lives in New York.  Thomas is excited about the move, he is looking forward to the journey on the mighty Titanic and his new career as an apprentice jeweller when they reach their destination.  Eve does not want to leave England.  She doesn't want to leave her friends, and she has a deep sense of foreboding about the journey on the 'unsinkable' Titanic.  

The book is broken up into sections, for each day on board the ship, and each chapter is told by either Eve or Thomas.  The Gilmore's are travelling 2nd class, but because Thomas, Eve and their new friends Hugh and Maggie manage to sneak about and explore the entire ship, we have an insight as to what life was life on the Titanic.  We see the grand staircase of first class, as well as a glimpse of the engine room.  There is also a family story, Eve and Thomas find out why their mother is the person that she is, and why she is so overprotective of their younger sister Bea.

While the Gilmores are ficticious characters, throughout the story we do meet characters who actually were passengers on the Titanic.   This includes Evelyn Marsden who was a first-class steward and nurse.  She was originally from South Australia and was one of the survivors.  There is information about the 'actual people on board the Titanic' as well as Australians who were on board.

I especially liked this story because while it did give me a lot of factual information about the ship and the journey, but it was also a lovely story about a family going through big changes and how they had started to make things right.

Who will like this book: Girls and Boys age 10+
Read it if you like: The Titanic