The Wreckers

by Iain Lawrence

Book Overview

There was once a village bred by evil. On the barren coast of Cornwall, England, lived a community who prayed for shipwrecks, a community who lured storm-tossed ships to crash upon the sharp rocks of their shore. They fed and clothed themselves with the loot salvaged from the wreckage; dead sailors' tools and trinkets became decorations for their homes. Most never questioned their murderous way of life. Then, upon that pirates' shore crashed the ship...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440415454
• ISBN13: 9780440415459
• Release Date: November 1999
• Publisher: Yearling Books
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.2" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 10 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 5 and higher

Customer Reviews

The Wreckers

If you saw your rescuers drown a fellow sailor, would you trust them? That is exactly what John Spencer, a survivor of a mysterious shipwreck, wonders in the book 'The Wreckers'. As John enters the world of treachery, he finds that things aren't always what they seem. First of all, his true rescuer, Simon Mawgan, makes suspicious outings whenever a ship might be wrecked. This happens in many other homes in Pendennis, people getting ready for a shipwreck, getting ready to kill the survivors and plunder the ship. While he tries to solve the mystery of the mastermind behind all this, he also has the complication of finding his father. Will this determined fourteen-year-old defeat the wreckers, or will they defeat him? Lawrence has written a remarkable tale that fascinates readers of all kinds and leaves you with characters hard to forget. It's treachery and justice make it exciting. 'The Wreckers' is an amazing story filled with mystery galore. This book is an adventure story packed with action and suspense, leaving you wanting for more. ~AD *The two other books in the trilogy can't compare to this one. It leaves the other two FAR behind.

Surviving a Shipwreck- A Book Review By Stephen and Richard

"Turn right! Turn right! Land ahoy!" These are the words that come out of fourteen year old john spencers dad. They are in a big storm, going full speed ahead to a harbor...well everyone on the boat thinks that. Jagged rocks cut through the boat causing everyone to stumble. John Spencer, a brave teenager, survives through many dangerous challenges, in the book The Wreckers by Iain Lawrence. John wakes up on shore with no one in sight except a horendous stranger with no legs. John doesn't know what to do. He runs as fast as he can with his boots sinking in the sand. What will happen next? This book is told from the point of veiw of John Spencer. John has company throughout the book, meeting a girl named Mary. John lives with mary and her Uncle for the remaining time he lives on this horrible island. John is very worried about his father, so he sets off to find him. This is the part of the book where the author's style really starts to pick up. There was a lot of tension and action when John risks his life to break his father out of a huge water pipe, where rats were biting at his feet. We thought that this book was very descriptive. For example, a descriptive quote from this book is, "John," he said. "His voice was hoarse; even the sound was painful. I can't believe...it's really you." We really enjoyed this book and hope you do too. Ages 11-16

Can John Live

A Review by Kelsey John Spencer doesn't want to sit at a little desk all day long as his job like his father does. So his rich father decides to take John on a ship with him, to learn how to become a sailor. Then, he figures John will realize how good sitting at a desk will be compared to most other jobs. They go on a ship that John's father owns, named Isle of Skye. In a huge storm, they see lights ahead and think it is a port, so the go towards the lights. Instead of getting there safely, they smash into some rocks called The Tombstones, where many other ships have sunk. Not knowing how to swim, John somehow manages to get to shore safely, where he sees men looking about for survivors. About to call to them for help, John stops as he sees them drowning one of his sailor friends. Running as fast as he can, he goes into a town on the coast of Cornwall, but little does he know he is not safe there, either. Searching for his father, which a man named Stumps has chained somewhere, he has his new friend, named Mary, help him. Once he finds his father, John wants to get back to England as fast as possible for lost of people there are trying to kill him, since he is a survivor. With the help of Mary, can John save his father, stop more shipwrecks, find out who is lighting the false beacon lights, and get back to England without getting killed? I think all of the characters in this book are good, but some are deceiving. They are mostly believable, except for some parts, such as the reason Simon wants to find the gold that John's father has is just because he has a temper. But other than that, they are great characters. The words were pretty easy, and probably anyone from 4th-11th grade would like it. This story at first seems scary, but then once you figure it all out it's more of an adventure. The plot was really good, but some spots were alittle bit confusing. But once you read on, everything will come together. I think the story would be better if it were longer, like if we knew John ever went back to Cornwall to visit Uncle Simon and Mary. I think you should read this book if you are considering it, for it is very good. There is lots of suspense, action, and adventure, and you don't know what is going to happen next. You will be surprised at what some of the characters turn out to be, which makes it even better.

Thrilling adventure

Seventh grade English teacher here. I was looking for some extra reading to follow up a class read of Treasure Island. Although some of my students would have difficulty with the language in The Wreckers, I know many of them would love it. I was intrigued with the way Lawrence cast suspicion on all the characters so I didn't know who was trustworthy and who intended evil. In fact, I almost sneaked a peak at the end of the book because I was ao anxious to find out how the story ended. I'm planning to add this title to my classroom library.

Great adventure and suspense

If you're a fan of Treasure Island (and who isn't), you'll enjoy this book. As a YA novelist, I read a large number of books for ages 10-16, and this ranks among my top 5 fav for 1998. Lawrence starts with a great concept--the fact that people used to deliberately cause shipwrecks in order to pillage their cargo--and develops an exciting plot around it, with interesting characters. He keeps you guessing as to who is "good" and "evil" and doesn't resort to simplistic answers to that question. The book includes historical explanation on the practice of "wrecking". A sure thing for reluctant readers.