Fearless

Fearless is a novel that takes place in 1703 in Cornwall, England. 11 year old Digory Beale and his younger brother Cubby live in a housw with their twelve cousins and their aunt. Digory's father, Nicholas Beale, is a sailor currently away on his ship, the Flying Cloud. When Digory recieves word that his father's ship had sunk, and Digory's aunt decides she is too poor to take care of him any longer, she sends him off to look for word of his father in the town of Plymouth. This employs the theme [...]

I do not like historical fiction. I did not like her other book that was on the SSYRA list a few years back. I went in thinking "Ick". I came out thinking "Wow!" What a great book with a vibrant main character, with a fascinating but true funhouse, solid events, and an ending that while surprising and non-Hollywood was apparently for the most part historically accurate.I think this is one of the best historical fiction books I have read and that it will appeal, especially to boys but also to gir [...]

Plot: Main idea in this book is that in 1703 when a storm brought down the little boys fathers boat. Eleven year old Digory is set off all alone walking across the wilds of corn wall. He has to get somewhere safe. because his father is dead and he will never be going home ever again. The way his dad died was from a serious boat accident by a monster storm- part hurricane.Specific scene: The specific scene in this book was that Digory the little boy was very brave tp be o this island by himself e [...]

Another courageous boy hero.

Left in the care of his aunt while his father is at sea, 11-year-old Digory Beale is plagued by nightmares of his father dying in a terrible storm. Digory has always been afraid of the sea, preferring to draw when other boys were competing for sailing jobs. When word comes that his father’s ship has gone down, it seems that his worst fear has been realized. Digory must set out for Plymouth to learn his father’s fate. His aunt tells him not to return unless he finds his father alive. With ele [...]

Fearless is a book that attempts to tell three different stories all at the same time. While some novels succeed at weaving many stories into one, this book was unable to successfully tell even one story throughout the novel. The book began with the story of two young brothers searching for information about their father the sailor. Midway through the novel, the author switched gears and introduced a new character. This was the start of the second story, which was far more interesting than the f [...]

YES for our library.This book reminded me so much of Avi's Crispin: The Cross of Lead, a book that completely captures the feel of a historical place and time through vivid language, historical vocabulary, and by successfully transporting the reader to that time.Unfortunately Fearless, like Crispin, isolates its readership by being so accurate to the time. In Fearless, a young boy in the 1700s, terrified of the sea and nearly useless to his family, is sent north to a harbor town to see if his fa [...]

Set in my favorite part of the world, the Cornish coast, 1703. Digory and his brother Cubby, extra mouths in their aunt's tiny cottage, head for Plymouth to find out if the news about their father's downed ship is true. They meet inventor Henry Winstanley, who takes them to his amazing home, the Magic House. Happy days ensue, as Digory becomes apprenticed to Henry. Then word comes that the Eddystone Reef lighthouse, an astonishing structure built by Henry five years previously on bare rock near [...]

Good period story that's also historic in places, it takes place in 1703 in Cornwall, England and is about a young boy Digory whose fisherman father is at sea. While he's gone, Digory and his little brother Cubby are sent to live with their aunt and 11 cousins. When they learn that their father's boat crashes on the reef, the aunt says she can't feed them anymore and they must venture out on their own. They meet a man in Plymouth who takes them in to work at his mansion. Henry Winstanley is an i [...]

Filled with action (although, I would agree with Kirkus reviews on this -- it is labored action) and drama, this is a story about the relationship with the sea in coastal England in the 1700s. The inspiration for the story was Henry Winstanley, who built a lighthouse on the Eddystone Reef off of Plymouth England in the late 1600s. He wanted nothing more than to be in the lighthouse during a storm -- and he got his wish during The Great Storm of 1703. It took his life.It is primarily the story of [...]

The book I read was Fearless by Elvira Woodruff. It's genre is realistic fiction.It is about two boys one Digory Beagle and the other Cubby Beagle who set out from a small town of Mousehole to Plymouth to hope to find their father alive for their father was in a shipwreck. My favorite character is Henry Winstanly because of the wacky inventions and creation. He brings Digory and Cubby in his house to be his apprentice. I also like him because he admires Digory's slate drawing.I would recommend i [...]

This is an historical fiction novel set in the year 1703 in Cornwall, England. The main character through hard times eventually meets the man who built the first lighthouse on the Eddystone Reef, saving thousands of sailors from a watery grave, Henry Winstanly. Who would dare to build a lighthouse on that murderous reef? Meet Henry and his House of Wonder, a fun house of gadgets and inventions. Although the story suffers in a spot or two in favor of presenting some interesting history, I still r [...]

I love lighthouses. This book gets an extra star because it is a historical novel about a very real lighthouse. It is actually geared toward young readers, but I really enjoyed it-read it in 3 days. The history of the lighthouse and its builder are accurate, as is the description of the Magic house and other inventions of Henry Winstanley. The young boys, and many of the other characters are fiction, but blended into the actual history extremely well by the author. Mr. Winstanley was a "fearless [...]

This one took some time for my investment in the outcome to occur, and even then I cared a lot more about Henry Winstanley than our intrepid orphaned protagonist. Although Winstanley is not the main character, he stands out as intelligent and fascinating, giving Thomas Jefferson a run for his money in my "who I most wish I could talk with for a few hours over tea" list.The climax was dramatic and the ending tearfully satisfying.And, guys? Best cover I've seen on a book in a very long time. I cou [...]

When I read _Fearless_, I kept waiting for a fearless character to show up, or for Digory to transform from a boy pretty much scared out of his wits to an amazingly fearless kid. That never happened!What I now realize is that this book is all about facing your fears, and doing things in spite of your fear. Digory does grow up in this book, faces his fears, and finds a new life. It is an inspiring story of life in early 1700s England.

Although I found Digory (the main character) to be interesting, I would have preferred she spent less time on the earlier chapters and focused more on the later chapters. The book really only got interesting in the last five chapters or so. It is nice that this book is based on historical people and places, just wish more would have been done to showcase the lighthouse and storm. A nice read for advanced readers or teens.

I really liked this historical fiction tale. I did not know anything about Henry Winstanley until I read this book and now I want to read more about him. A great book for readers of all ages, but the best audience would probably be middle school aged young men. The main character is 11 and has quite the story to tell as he meets Henry Winstanely and experiences the monster storm of 1703. A well-written and researched book by Elvira Woodruff.

Its good and the main character has to leave his home and start his life at 12 he has to get job and live on his own because his aunt can not feed him with the money they have. This book in my opinion was good a little depressing near the end. The tides seem to turn on diggory's life nearing the end of the book. Overall its an extremely good book and its amazing to watch how diggory matures and makes choices that either turn out good or bad

I read this book as part of a pen pal program I do for a teacher friend in Winchester. I am partnered with a fifth-grade student, and we share our thoughts back and forth about books the students are required to read. Fearless was quite a boy's adventure story, and I enjoyed reading it a great deal. As my pen pal pointed it, it was a real page-turner! Elvira Woodruff packs quite a bit of description in with very few words - her pictures are vivid and her action is well-played.

This would be a good book for a special kind of student. The book talks about death quite a bit (from a historically correct perspective) and some of the language is in old English. I personally enjoyed the book. But I would be hesitant to recommend it to just any older elementary/younger MS student.

Great read for fans of historical fiction or for future inventors. The author wove historical information about Henry Winstanley and the first caisson lighthouse into her fictional account of a young Cornish boy's life in 1703. Lexile: 810

The hardships of Digory Beale are quickly resolved. The impact of the tragedy of his mentor's death is lessened by the sudden return of his father. I will not rush to recommend this book to readers looking for black-eyed susan nominees.

Cool Book!I loved the ending when he finally finds his father. The sad part is that his "master" who lives in the magical house dies. Book has an interesting plot and it hits me by surprise when you find out that the "Jester of Littlebury" was real

I liked it and it was a topic I knew nothing about, but it was hard to get a sense of the time and place. I wish the historical note had been at the beginning sort of (or at least part of it) Not sure about this one, but I definitely learned something

I didn't realize it until the end of the book, but this was a historical fiction. Pretty intersting read about a young boy who is in search of his father, and the man who finds him. The man is an inventor and teaches the boy many things. I enjoyed this.

Liked the story it's a grand adventure. Some of the writing seemed a little is heavy handed the correct term?Anyway. Inspired by a real person I'm now very curious to look up this man who invented the first "Magic House."

I liked that the boy in this story overcomes his greatest fear, the water, to help others. It was fascinating to read about the magical house. I am not sure how much this book will appeal to kids though.

I like this better than three stars, but not quite enough for four. It reminded me a bit of Avi's Crispin. The character of Winstanley was the most interesting part of the book. I think I would have preferred reading a biography about him.

This book wasn't as strong as The Ravenmaster's Secret, which I love reading to my students. It seemed rushed (all of the important, intense places were swept through quickly) and not as deep. It was a great story of bravery and trust.

3.5