I read this because it is on the curriculum for my district. It’s a good adventure story. The reason they go on the voyage is intriguing and it’s amazing that they survived for so long on a raft in the pacific.

I liked the set up of the voyage and the chapters they get ready to go. The chapters about traveling in the raft are interesting but less so. They did give some interesting context to the fictional survival story in Life of Pi.

Overall I enjoyed reading this book. I rated only three stars because I was reading to assess if it would be good to teach to 9th graders. Overall - no there are better books that will inspire and hold the attention of young readers. I did pull compelling passages if I’m forced to use it in the future because there are good sections.