I gave up on this about halfway through. I got tired of all the technical sailing descriptions, a predictable barroom fight, and a tedious story of rich boys that was going nowhere. ( )

First of all, if you know anything about sailing and all the terminology that goes along with it, then you will definitely love this story and would probably rate this much higher than the 2-stars I gave it. It is very well written with a terrific storyline, but I just didn't enjoy reading it and stayed lost in the endless sailing terminology throughout this book. Also, I found it very distracting the amount of Spanish used when they were shipwrecked in Cuba during the hurricane at the end of the book. But, hey, to each his own.

Sybil is the intuitive family slueth. She is on a mission to find out why her great-grandfather, Cyrus Braithewaite, would send his three teenage sons off alone on a brigatte out into the ocean for 3 months. Her aging Unclecousin Myles has started research on the family and began putting a book together call The Braithewaite Gathering. The purpose of this book was to be a collection of all the hidden sins of their forefathers that ultimately will predict the future downfall and curses of the family's future, which they were beginning to experience. The Bible does say, The curses of our father... Myles being a retired preacher believes the curses could be handed down through generations through our DNA. But, he is now in a wheelchair after having a stroke, he passes on all his research and family records to Sybil for her to uncover. [What a dream come true!]

There was plenty of adventure for the boys out at sea, surviving through two hurricanes and watching one of their crew, good friend and navigator, Will, die.

There are skeletons in every family history, but to find out that your half-brother is also your father would surely mess with your mind. This is what Cyrus learned of his first-born son, Lockwood, who would secretly father three sons for him through his wife Elizabeth who couldn't seem to get pregnant by Cyrus. This would send any man over the edge. Cyrus forever turned his back on his first-born and the other three boys, and on his wife, Elizabeth. Lockwood commited suicide. ( )

I love Caputo's writing style and found this book fascinating in spite of the fact that I know absolutely nothing about sailing. All the sailing terms left me pretty confused at times. In spite of that, I enjoyed reading the book and loved the final chapters. Unlike several other reviewers who were able to pick up clues as to why the boys were sent to sea, I didn't know until the ending so I liked the final chapter. Family histories can be very complicated and we are indeed always the products of our family histories whether we like them or not. ( )

This is a very good book about adventure and family. I especially liked the brothers learning to work together in the storms. ( )

I really love this book. Turn of the century story. Boys go on a boat trip around the world. Action and adventure ensue. ( )