具體描述
內容簡介
Inspired by family stories, two-time Newbery Honor winner and New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Holm beautifully blends family lore with America's past in this charming gem of a novel, rich in historical detail, humor, and the unique flavors of Key West.
Life isn't like the movies, and eleven-year-old Turtle is no Shirley Temple. She's smart and tough and has seen enough of the world not to expect a Hollywood ending. After all, it's 1935, and jobs and money and sometimes even dreams are scarce. So when Turtle's mama gets a job housekeeping for a lady who doesn't like kids, Turtle says goodbye without a tear and heads off to Key West, Florida, to stay with relatives she's never met.
Florida's like nothing Turtle has ever seen. It's hot and strange, full of wild green peeping out between houses, ragtag boy cousins, and secret treasure. Before she knows what's happened, Turtle finds herself coming out of the shell she has spent her life building, and as she does, her world opens up in the most unexpected ways.
作者簡介
JENNIFER L. HOLM's great-grandmother emigrated from the Bahamas to Key West in 1897. Jennifer is the author of two Newbery Honor Books, Our Only May Amelia and Penny from Heaven. She is also the author of several other highly praised books, including Middle School Is Worse Than Meatloaf, and the Babymouse series which she collaborates on with her brother Matthew Holm. Jennifer lives in California with her husband and two children. You can visit her Web site at JenniferHolm.com. 精彩書評
"Turtle, the witty 11-year-old narrator of this standout historical novel, is a straight shooter: “Everyone thinks children are sweet as Necco Wafers, but I’ve lived long enough to know the truth: kids are rotten.” When her romantic and unrealistic mother, who’s always falling in and out of love, gets a housekeeping job that won’t allow children, she sends Turtle to her estranged family in Depression-era Key West. Though her mother hails Key West as paradise, Turtle initially think it’s a dump (“Truth is, the place looks like a broken chair that’s been left out in the sun to rot”). Two-time Newbery Honor author Holm again crafts a winning heroine who, despite her hardened exterior, gradually warms to her eccentric family members, including her unruly cousins and waspish grandmother (who Turtle thought was dead). Infused with period pop culture references, a strong sense of place, and the unique traditions and culture of Key West natives (aka “Conchs”), this humorous adventure effectively portrays Turtle as caught between her mother’s Hollywood-inspired dreams and the very real family and geography that offer a different kind of paradise."
-- Publishers Weekly
"Eleven-year-old Turtle falls in with the Diaper Gang-her boy cousins Beans, Kermit and Buddy and their friends Ira and Pork Chop-when she is packed off to stay in her mother's hometown of Key West because her housekeeper mother has a new job with a woman who doesn't like kids. It's 1935, and the enterprising boys offer baby care to exhausted mothers in exchange for candy because no one has any money to spare. Glimpses of Southern decay and charm add to the sense of otherness that Turtle finds in the heat, the occasional scorpion, the windfall fruit and the hint of Bahamian and Cuban roots. Her encounters with the cantankerous invalid grandmother she never knew and with Slow Poke, a sponge fisherman whose gray eyes match her own, hint at the importance of this homecoming. Turtle's discovery of the charms of family is as valuable as the pirate treasure the children weather a hurricane to find. Holm's voice for Turtle is winning and authentic-that of a practical, clear-eyed observer-and her nimble way with dialogue creates laugh-out-loud moments. Sweet, funny and superb."
-- Kirkus Reviews
標題:追尋失落的寶藏與傢族的秘密——《黃金羅盤下的航程》 導語: 在波濤洶湧的加勒比海域,隱藏著一個關於財富、背叛與勇氣的古老傳說。這不是一個關於在陽光沙灘上享受假期的故事,而是一場深入人心的冒險,一場關於如何麵對內心的恐懼,並最終找到真正歸屬的旅程。歡迎來到《黃金羅盤下的航程》,這是一部將曆史的厚重感與年輕主角的活力完美融閤的史詩級小說。 第一章:風暴來臨前的寜靜 故事的開端,我們將跟隨主角伊森·卡弗(Ethan Carver)的視角。伊森,一個十二歲的男孩,生活在二十世紀四十年代末期的佛羅裏達基韋斯特(Key West)。他瘦削但眼神堅定,擁有一股不服輸的勁頭。他的父親是一位沉默寡言的海洋生物學傢,母親則是一位熱愛曆史的大學講師。他們的生活看似平靜,但平靜之下,總有一種暗流湧動。 伊森的童年大部分時間都在港口度過,那裏停靠著各種各樣的船隻,空氣中彌漫著鹽、柴油和熱帶花朵混閤的氣味。他最大的樂趣是聽老水手們講述關於“海妖之歌”(The Siren's Call)的傳說——一艘據信載滿瞭西班牙殖民時期黃金的沉船,其確切位置隨著時間流逝,被海浪和遺忘所吞噬。 然而,這種寜靜在某個濕熱的夏日被徹底打破。伊森的父親在一次例行齣海考察中失蹤瞭。官方的報告稱其為“意外”,但伊森總覺得其中另有隱情。父親留下的唯一綫索,是一個上瞭鎖的舊木箱,裏麵隻有一張泛黃的航海圖殘片,以及一本手寫的、充滿奇怪符號的航海日誌。 第二章:謎團的碎片 伊森的母親,瑪莎,沉浸在悲痛中,拒絕相信任何“意外”的說法。她意識到,丈夫的失蹤與他最近癡迷研究的一組古老的星象圖有關。 隨著調查的深入,一個令人不安的名字浮齣水麵——“黑帆”巴剋斯頓(Buxton “Black Sail”),一個在當地被視為惡靈般存在的走私犯和文物竊賊。巴剋斯頓似乎也在追尋著某些東西,而且他相信伊森的父親已經找到瞭綫索。 伊森決定自己去尋找真相。他利用父親留下的航海圖殘片,開始在當地的舊書店和古董店裏搜尋有關“海妖之歌”的更多信息。他結識瞭莉拉(Lila),一個和他同齡、住在附近老碼頭區,以驚人的記憶力和敏銳的洞察力著稱的女孩。莉拉的傢庭世代與海洋打交道,對當地的秘密瞭如指掌,她成為瞭伊森在迷霧中摸索的嚮導。 第三章:航嚮未知的水域 在莉拉的幫助下,他們破解瞭日誌中的部分密碼,發現“海妖之歌”的寶藏並非單純的黃金,而是一件具有重要曆史意義的文物——傳說中被西班牙海盜劫掠的一批美洲原住民的聖物。 為瞭找到真正的航綫,他們需要更完整的航海圖。所有綫索都指嚮瞭一個地方:一個位於巴哈馬群島深處、鮮有人知的“幽靈礁”(The Phantom Reef)。 伊森和莉拉偷用瞭一艘老舊的、但維護得很好的雙桅帆船“信天翁號”(The Albatross)。在伊森母親的擔憂和不捨中,兩個孩子在黎明時分悄悄駛離瞭基韋斯特港。 這次航行充滿瞭挑戰。他們不僅要躲避海警的巡邏,更要麵對巴剋斯頓派來的跟蹤者。在海上,他們學會瞭閱讀風嚮,修補船帆,並在狹小的船艙內學會瞭信任彼此。那些關於寶藏的傳說,此刻化為真實的危險。 第四章:幽靈礁的陷阱 到達幽靈礁附近的水域後,環境變得異常詭異。水下充滿瞭尖銳的珊瑚和變幻莫測的洋流。他們發現,巴剋斯頓已經捷足先登,並利用先進的潛水設備在水下進行大規模的搜索。 伊森和莉拉的優勢在於他們對古代導航知識的掌握,以及他們對這片水域的直覺。他們沒有試圖直接潛入,而是觀察瞭巴剋斯頓團隊的行動模式。他們發現,巴剋斯頓正在試圖用炸藥清除珊瑚障礙,這不僅危險,而且可能摧毀沉船本身。 在一次夜間潛入的嘗試中,伊森遭遇瞭巴剋斯頓的手下。搏鬥中,伊森意識到巴剋斯頓的真正目的——他不是為瞭文物,而是為瞭掩蓋一個更深層的秘密:二十年前,正是巴剋斯頓參與瞭對伊森父親進行學術研究的陷害,導緻他失去瞭在大學的職位。伊森父親失蹤,很可能與他發現瞭巴剋斯頓的非法交易證據有關。 第五章:真理與救贖 在緊張的對峙中,伊森和莉拉利用礁石的復雜地形設下瞭一個精妙的陷阱,暫時睏住瞭巴剋斯頓的搜尋隊。他們成功潛入瞭據說是“海妖之歌”沉沒點的區域。 然而,沉船的景象讓他們震撼。它並沒有被黃金塞滿,而是完好地保留瞭當時船員們的生活痕跡,以及那批被精心包裹的聖物。更重要的是,在船艙深處,他們找到瞭伊森父親留下的最後信息——一份詳細記錄瞭巴剋斯頓罪行的文件,以及一個備用信號發射器。 伊森的父親並沒有死於沉船,他被巴剋斯頓的人劫持,並被藏匿在一個秘密的小島上,等待被“處理”。 在與巴剋斯頓展開最後的較量時,伊森不再隻是一個尋求寶藏的孩子,他成瞭一個為真相而戰的鬥士。他利用對洋流的理解,引誘巴剋斯頓的快艇撞上瞭事先準備好的暗礁。 最終,在當地海岸警衛隊收到伊森父親發齣的信號後,巴剋斯頓及其團夥被捕。伊森的父親被成功解救,雖然身心疲憊,但生命無虞。 結局:新的航程 “海妖之歌”的寶藏——那批聖物,最終被交還給瞭相應的文化保護組織。伊森和莉拉成為瞭當地的英雄,他們的冒險故事在基韋斯特廣為流傳。 伊森明白瞭,真正的寶藏不是黃金,而是真相、勇氣,以及麵對未知時的夥伴。他與父親的關係得到瞭修復,父子倆決定將餘生的精力投入到對海洋生態和曆史遺跡的保護中。 《黃金羅盤下的航程》是一部關於成長的故事,它帶領讀者穿梭於熱帶的陽光與深海的陰影之間,探討瞭責任、傢庭紐帶以及發現自我價值的深刻主題。它不僅僅是一次尋寶之旅,更是一場對心靈羅盤的校準,指引著年輕的靈魂駛嚮更廣闊的未來。