Stowaway

Summary: "Hesse is true to her narrator. Since it would strain belief for Nick to be present at every interesting moment of the tale, he often hears about shore expeditions from older members of the crew, and learns the news retailed in the captain's voice mostly from the captain's teen-age servant, John Charlton. Hesse's Nick has intelligence, curiosity, an observant eye and a great, affectionate passion for animals and bird...s. He records with tireless interest Banks's collecting of plants and creatures unknown to Europeans; we never lose sight of the 18th-century fervor for cataloging the natural world." [read more]