Cynthia Bass

This coming-of-age story is about a 12-year-old boy named Sumner, named after Senator Charles Sumner, the great abolitionist. Sumner’s parents are separated: his mother, a suffragette, lives in the States, and his father resides in England. He visits his father every couple of years. Sumner writes poetry, and entering a contest, writes a poem comparing the lack of rights, specifically voting rights, for women to slavery. Though he loses the contest, his mother is so delighted by his efforts that she rewards him with a ticket to return to the States on the Titanic. It is during this visit to his father and the voyage home that Sumner learns many things. He discovers some truths about his father. Traveling alone on the ship, he learns to make friends of strangers. He becomes enchanted by an older woman. He learns to smoke. He is torn between saving his life by entering a lifeboat or staying with the men on the ship. He speaks up to save another. One interesting comment is made by his friend: “If you can’t make a big difference one day, you’re stuck making little ones every day.” Set against the sinking of the Titanic, this story of how one young boy reaches maturity almost overnight is quite an interesting tale.… (mer)