Book review: Titanic, Book Three: S.O.S. by Gordon Korman

Titanic, Book Three: S.O.S. by Gordon Korman (Published by Scholastic, September 1, 2011)

This is the third and final book in the Titanic series by Gordon Korman, and concludes the story of Sophie, Juliana, Paddy, and Alfie, four young teenagers traveling on the Titanic. At the start of the series, they had very little in common. Juliana and Sophie are both first class passengers, but come from very different families - Juliana is the daughter of a British earl, while Sophie's mother is an American suffragist. Paddy is a stowaway, and Alfie lied about his age to get a job on the ship, so he could be near his father. These four unlikely friends worked together to hide Paddy and discover the identity of a murderer traveling on the ship.

This book picks up the story right where book two ended, shortly after the Titanic struck an iceberg and began to sink. Like many others, the four friends thought the Titanic was unsinkable, but soon they realize the ship is doomed. Separated from each other in the chaos, they must fight to save their families, their friends, and their own lives.

I really enjoyed the first two books in this series and was eager to read the conclusion to find out what happened to the characters when the ship sank. I am happy to say I was not disappointed and I was eagerly turning the pages to find out what happened next and who would survive. Since this is a book about the Titanic, of course everyone does not survive, so I was expecting that some people would die, but it was still sad to read about it. However I am glad the author decided to make the ending realistic rather than an unrealistic happy ending for everyone. Although this series is written for middle grade readers, I really enjoyed it, and I recommend it to anyone who is fascinated by the story of the Titanic.