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ABOUT THE BOOK
NO SPOILERSIn 1832, thirteen-year-old Charlotte Doyle is a proper young lady at the Barrington School for Better Girls in England. Her father books her passage home to Providence, Rhode Island, on the Seahawk, a ship owned by his firm, and she is to keep a journal of the voyage, which he warns he will read and check for spelling. Looking back years later, Charlotte opens her story by announcing that she was once accused of murder, brought to trial, and found guilty. On the Liverpool docks, one porter quits at the sound of the captain's name, another runs off at the sight of the ship, and the two families who were supposed to look after her never come, leaving her the only passenger. Two of the crew warn her off, and the old cook, Zachariah, gives her a small dirk for protection. Zachariah claims the crew has signed on for revenge, but Charlotte would much rather trust the elegant Captain Jaggery, who serves her tea in his fine cabin and asks her to be his "eyes and ears among the men." And something strange seems to be waiting in the dark cargo hold.
Free Battle of the Books questions for The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle
SPOILERSEvery one of these has the same answer, and that is the point. In a real battle the question is read aloud with a dozen other books in play, and students have a few seconds to place it. Here is what a battle might ask about The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Use them as a quiz, a trivia round, or BOTB practice.
Where in the book they come from
- Early in the book
In what book does a seasick passenger fling a dagger at a rat nibbling the spine of her journal?
✓ Answer
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
Sick for days after the ship sails, Charlotte drifts through ghastly dreams and once wakes to find Zachariah's dirk in her hand. Seeing a rat chewing her journal, she throws the blade at it, then buries her head in the coverlet and cries herself to sleep.
- First half
In what book does a schoolgirl spend two hours writing an essay on proper behavior for young women?
✓ Answer
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
Shocked at herself for liking the sailor's clothes, Charlotte shuts herself in her cabin and writes the essay in her blank book. She reads some of it to Captain Jaggery at tea, and his praise makes her feel she has won her father's approval too.
- First half
In what book is a gun safe's key hidden on the back of a little girl's portrait?
✓ Answer
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
After Charlotte reports the pistol and the round robin, Captain Jaggery takes down the portrait of his daughter, Victoria, and uses the key fixed to its back to unlock his guns. Armed with muskets and pistols, he and Mr. Hollybrass rush on deck, and the captain pulls Charlotte along by the arm.
- Second half
In what book is a terrified climber seventeen feet up before realizing her rigging only reaches the first trestletree?
✓ Answer
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
Charlotte's test is to climb the mainmast all the way to the royal yard. Partway up she sees she picked a set of rigging that only goes to the top of the lower mast, but with the whole crew watching from below she refuses to back down and start over.
- Second half
In what book does a lone red bird ride a branch floating far out at sea?
✓ Answer
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
While she and Barlow are scraping down the capstan, Charlotte spots the bird and happily asks if it means land is near. Barlow shakes his head and says the bird is from the Caribbean, a thousand miles off, and was driven there by a hurricane, "the worst storm of all."
- Near the end
In what book does a defiant prisoner cry, "Unusual and unnatural are not the same!"?
✓ Answer
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
At her trial aboard ship, Captain Jaggery keeps calling everything Charlotte has done unnatural, from carrying a knife to wearing sailor's clothes and working with the crew. Charlotte fights back by insisting that doing something unusual for a girl does not make it unnatural.
