Carry on, Mr. Bowditch

Author: Jean Lee Latham
General Summary and Plot
The Bowditch family is a family of seamen. This does not count out Nathaniel, the smallest male member of the family. Nat’s dream is to go to Harvard University. This dream is crushed when he must first drop out of school to work in his father’s shop, and secondly when his father indentures him at the age of 12 to learn trade and keep books as a ship chandlery for 9 years.
Nat goes to work and learns all he can about everything, writing down books full of ship terms and procedures. He teaches himself Latin, French, and Spanish with a bilingual dictionary and a Bible from that language. He teaches himself many other things like navigation and astronomy. He rewrites navigation charts when he finds errors in them. In the end, Nat commands his own ship and is given a degree from Harvard University though he never studied in its classrooms.

Positive Elements
Nat is a driven and intelligent young man, even when his teacher or his father discredits his abilities or makes decisions that ruin his dreams he obeys with all his might.
Nat spends his time on his ships educating the crewmen so they can advance in their fields.

Spiritual Content
Nothing memorable

Negative Elements
Nat’s father is an alcoholic, at times a recovering alcoholic but when his wife dies he gives up.
Almost everyone in Nat’s family dies, even his first wife.

Profanity
None (that I can remember)

Sexual Content
None

Violence
A couple of the men on Nat’s ships are hard and prone to violence, Nat curbs this by appreciating and educating them.


Overall Theme
You can do or learn anything into which you will put your mind and strength.

Conclusion
This biography was a little difficult to read. Years would pass in the middle of a paragraph. One sentence Nat’s mother is counseling him and the next sentence it is 6 months later and she has died. The next sentence is two years later and his grandmother has died.
There is nothing risky or controversial about this book and it is full of nothing too exciting. I had a hard time getting through it to be honest.

Suggested age group
The content is more for serious readers. Do not try getting a normal middle school student thrilled with the excitement of the “page turner.”

Virtually Perfect

Author: Dan Gutman

Other books by author:

General Summary and Plot

Who wouldn’t want to design the perfect person? If given the chance to make a person with all of the preferred characteristics, and personality traits- and then if you forgot to add wisdom? This is what happens when Yip designs a virtual actor (or vactor) with his father’s computer program. Victor is handsome, charming, and incredibly smart; so smart he has found a way to leave his virtual computer world and become a walking reality. Yip believes he has made the perfect best friend.

Without wisdom or morals, Victor is wreaking havoc in Yip’s life. He changes his face and age and robs banks. Yip tries find out the scheme and tries to cut Victor short by deleting his file. Victor locks Yip out of the computer and plans to make his way to Washington and change his face into that of the President of the United States.

Yip’s grandfather picks up on Victor’s seemingly “perfect-ness” and plots a way to prove himself right. In proving himself right, he ends Victor’s plot to take over the country.

Positive Elements

A quirky, easy reader. Yip’s grandfather is against the computer age and is disappointed by what it has done to the present generation and often chides Yip to get outside where real life is (as opposed to in front of the computer.)

There is an accepted right and wrong- Victor lying and ditching Yip is wrong no matter what he says. Victor’s lack of conscience is blamed on the fact that books by ancient philosophers were deleted from his files of knowledge. I think the Bible would have helped in the conscience area.

Spiritual Content

None

Negative Elements

Yip’s sister, Paige, is unashamedly boy-crazy. Victor is supposedly the perfect boy but he is quite rude.

Profanity

None

Sexual Content

Paige falls in love with Victor and they kiss while on a date- Victor disregards Paige’s emotions because love and kissing are only words in the dictionary to him.

Violence

Yip’s grandfather was an old time stunt coordinator for films. He pulls a couple of tricks for a home movie like fake guns and fake blood. He pretends to be brutally attached for practical joke’s sake.

Victor robs a bank.

Overall Theme

Perfect is not all it is cracked up to be. Reality and good old fashioned fun- never goes out of style.

Conclusion

A pretty good read, a one-sitting book. A silly concept, completely impossible, and a bunch of stuff jammed into a few chapters. Definitely won’t become a children’s classic.

Suggested age group

3^rd-6^th grade