Stormy Passage

Stormy Passage is the first title in a new hi-lo series. According to promotional material accompanying the review copy, “‘Adventure Peak’ is a new series that is designed to appeal to the struggling middle school (or early high school) reader who is ready to give up on the reading process entirely... The books are written at the grade 2-3 reading level... The book is set in 14-point Arial which is recommended in a 2013 Spanish study by Rello and Baez -Yates.” (One assumes their study found this font and size aided reading.) Given that Stormy Passage was published as a mass market paperback, the larger font size means that there are just a few words in each line of text (see Excerpt above which reproduces the line structure.)

Most hi-lo books focus on plot with little character development, and Stormy Passage, an adventure story, is no exception. Though Nate, the central character of unknown age, is fictional, the book’s plot is based on an actual historical event, the Saxby Gale of October 4, 1869. The ship, the New York, captained by Captain Winchester, really did, as Stormy Passage describes, lose its anchors and rudder during the storm and was at serious risk of foundering. The happenings connected to the weather event are seen through Nate’s eyes as he serves as a deckhand aboard the ship. A closing one-page “About the Saxby Gale” clarifies the fictional/factual aspects of the book.

The book’s beginning could leave readers with the impression that its action will be set in the present, but on p. 3, readers have to adjust their timeline when they read that it’s actually 1869. Action before explanation might be the mantra of authors of hi-lo titles. For example, when the ship loses both anchors, Nate and another crew member “volunteer” to carry a rope to shore, a rope they are to tie to a tree. How this “anchor” point will hold the New York in place is never explained. Similarly, when the weight of passengers is used, in conjunction with the vessel’s starboard and port paddle wheels, to steer the rudderless ship, Merlin just has it happen. And how many reluctant readers will have encountered the term “saloon” in a seagoing, as opposed to a Wild West”, context?

Reluctant readers modify the eater’s adage, “You eat with your eyes first”, to “We select books with our eyes first.” How “fat” is it? Just 64 pages. How big is the print? Large! How enticing is the cover? Not very (possibly the deal-breaker). Given that the book’s audience consists of (male?) readers aged 10-13, the cover just isn’t enticing. The image of an old man and a young boy in a rowboat does not accurately represent the book’s action, most of which takes place on board the New York.

With some adult intervention, reluctant readers may be enticed to give the contents of Stormy Passage a try.