Booktalk: Some kids have all the luck in the world. As for Tom Tin, he's got all the bad luck in the world. Mr. Goodfellow, the wealthiest businessman in town, has been leaning so hard on Tom's dad to pay his bills that Tom's family has been forced to live in raggedy houses because that is all they can afford. And now Tom's father has been hauled off to jail for not paying the bills. Tom runs away hoping to find a way to get his dad out of jail. Not a bad idea but soon Tom's luck goes from bad to worse. He gets lost in the big city, bashes a blind man over the head, helps a bone picker dig a body out of a grave, is arrested for murder of the blind man, and ends up sentenced to spend seven years in a dark dismal floating jail crammed with hundreds of criminal boys and cruel guards. Tom doesn't believe he can last seven years in this wretched jail especially because he's innocent. He turns to Midgely, one of the other boy convicts. (Read p91 "I whispered back" to end of paragraph? page?)

Thoroughly researched, quick moving, containing many unlikely coincidences, several plausible surprises and reverses, and overall grim.

Miscatalogued by some public libraries as a childrens book; where YA category is available, should be YA. ( )

RGG: Dickensian story of a young boy mistaken for a criminal and sentenced to a prison boat. The style and mood make for a more difficult read. Reading Level: YA.

The Convicts is a great book for anyone who likes Charles Dickens-ey type stories, aka books with lots of twists and supercute poor kids.

It's the story of Tom Tin (yes, it's a weird name) who gets thrown onto a hulk, a prison ship for boys. While there, he gets mistaken for someone called "The Smasher," (hence my username) who he apparently looks exactly like. With some help, he tries to think of a plan to escape from the ship and reunite with his father.

Some people might not like this because the story can be a bit gruesome at times and it's helpful if you have an interest and knowledge in the 19th century. However, I do, and I give it two thumbs up! ( )

I only read the first couple of chapters of this book because it was a bit too dark and creepy for me. ( )