"It isn't mine!"
That's Luke's only defense when the assistant principal pulls a small handgun out of his locker. If Mr. Sazio, the police, or the judge believed those three simple words, Luke would never even have heard of the Phoenix.
All through the trial he sits stone-faced. That was Reese's gun. Why doesn't Luke tell them? Sure, no one likes a tattle tale, but this is his life! And by the time the numbness wears off, the verdict is in: Guilty. The choice: six months in juvenile detention or Charting A New Course, a four-week sailing trip for troubled youth.
Until he sets his feet on the deck planks of the Phoenix, Luke Haggerty doesn't know what trouble really is.
Crew
Meet Will Greenfield
Will Greenfield
"If I survive this trip, I'll never cheat on another math test!"
Will is already making deals with himself before the Phoenix even pulls away from the dock. What could be more miserable than a month at sea when the bathtub makes you queasy? "If I get through this, I swear I'll floss. Every night!
Four weeks trapped on a floating sardine can with a crew of wackos and juvenile delinquents. Seasickness, lousy food, and not so much as a deck of cards for entertainment.
But the worst part, the real killer, is that she is going to be there!
Crew
Meet Charla Swann
Charla Swann
High jump, balance beam, 100-meter freestyle, heptathlon. She's nationally ranked at all of them. And more. The most gifted athlete her coaches have ever seen. The perfect kid. What's she doing on this floating reformatory?
The stress was building like steam just below the surface. Up at four a.m. to be in the pool by five. The drive to reach that next personal best. Her father and his ever-present stopwatch. The pressure to pick a single sport. "It's your ticket, Charla!" Her ticket out of a bleak neighborhood, with little money and even less hope. Her ticket to a better life.
And then … disaster.
As she steps aboard the Phoenix, Charla Swann reflects that her life could not possibly get any worse.
She's wrong.
Crew
Meet Lyssa Greenfield
Lyssa Greenfield
"I fight with my brother."
No big deal. After all, what brothers and sisters don't fight? It's innocent enough. Definitely not worth sending two kids halfway around the world for Charting A New Course.
But when it comes to sibling warfare, the Greenfields boast a major-league resume: slashed bicycle tires, melted computer diskettes, incinerated school projects, sweaters unraveled to a ball of yarn, a milkshake full of Tabasco, cracked ribs, and a broken nose. The last two items on this list end in an unplanned trip to the hospital.
The next trip for Lyssa and her brother is planned — twenty-one hours on planes, and then the Phoenix. Their mission: Learn to get along, or else.
In a million years, no one could predict what "or else" would come to mean.
Crew
Meet Ian Sikorsky
Ian Sikorsky
Computer geek? Straight-A student? TV-addicted couch potato? All of the above? Just what did this shy eleven-year-old do to get himself banished to the high seas on the Phoenix?
He's younger than the others, smaller, and ten times as scared. Ask him a question and he'll probably be too timid to answer. He very rarely raises his head to look anyone in the eye.
Fact: This nerdy loner may very well be the difference between life and death for the entire crew.
Crew
Meet J.J. Lane
J.J. Lane
How could he blow it like that? A movie star's son. He has it all. Mansions. Money. Hollywood. Every day is like Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. What does he have to rebel against? Why would he get himself into so much trouble that the only answer is Charting A New Course?
Boredom, maybe. A new stepmother every few years. Being raised first by nannies and later by a series of personal assistants to a world-renowned actor who is capable of playing any role except father to his own son.
Then comes the day when J.J. climbs on his father's Harley Davidson, and the rest is front-page news. It's time for J.J. Lane to get out of town for awhile …
Meet Luke Haggerty
That's Luke's only defense when the assistant principal pulls a small handgun out of his locker. If Mr. Sazio, the police, or the judge believed those three simple words, Luke would never even have heard of the Phoenix.
All through the trial he sits stone-faced. That was Reese's gun. Why doesn't Luke tell them? Sure, no one likes a tattle tale, but this is his life! And by the time the numbness wears off, the verdict is in: Guilty. The choice: six months in juvenile detention or Charting A New Course, a four-week sailing trip for troubled youth.
Until he sets his feet on the deck planks of the Phoenix, Luke Haggerty doesn't know what trouble really is.
Meet Will Greenfield
Will is already making deals with himself before the Phoenix even pulls away from the dock. What could be more miserable than a month at sea when the bathtub makes you queasy?
"If I get through this, I swear I'll floss. Every night!
Four weeks trapped on a floating sardine can with a crew of wackos and juvenile delinquents. Seasickness, lousy food, and not so much as a deck of cards for entertainment.
But the worst part, the real killer, is that she is going to be there!
Meet Charla Swann
The stress was building like steam just below the surface. Up at four a.m. to be in the pool by five. The drive to reach that next personal best. Her father and his ever-present stopwatch. The pressure to pick a single sport. "It's your ticket, Charla!" Her ticket out of a bleak neighborhood, with little money and even less hope. Her ticket to a better life.
And then … disaster.
As she steps aboard the Phoenix, Charla Swann reflects that her life could not possibly get any worse.
She's wrong.
Meet Lyssa Greenfield
No big deal. After all, what brothers and sisters don't fight? It's innocent enough. Definitely not worth sending two kids halfway around the world for Charting A New Course.
But when it comes to sibling warfare, the Greenfields boast a major-league resume: slashed bicycle tires, melted computer diskettes, incinerated school projects, sweaters unraveled to a ball of yarn, a milkshake full of Tabasco, cracked ribs, and a broken nose. The last two items on this list end in an unplanned trip to the hospital.
The next trip for Lyssa and her brother is planned — twenty-one hours on planes, and then the Phoenix. Their mission: Learn to get along, or else.
In a million years, no one could predict what "or else" would come to mean.
Meet Ian Sikorsky
He's younger than the others, smaller, and ten times as scared. Ask him a question and he'll probably be too timid to answer. He very rarely raises his head to look anyone in the eye.
Fact: This nerdy loner may very well be the difference between life and death for the entire crew.
Meet J.J. Lane
Boredom, maybe. A new stepmother every few years. Being raised first by nannies and later by a series of personal assistants to a world-renowned actor who is capable of playing any role except father to his own son.
Then comes the day when J.J. climbs on his father's Harley Davidson, and the rest is front-page news. It's time for J.J. Lane to get out of town for awhile …
HOME