Ghost Voyages III: Endeavour and Resolution

Kristin Butcher writes novels for young adults. Her most recent works
are Cairo Kelly and the Mann, The Gamma War, The Tomorrow Tunnel, The
Trouble with Liberty, and Zee’s Way.

Ghost Voyages III finds Jeremy Thorpe travelling back in time once more
via his grandfather’s collection of ship stamps, but this time he is
two years older. He is visiting his father for the first time since his
parents’ divorce seven years ago, and his stepmother has given him a
whole new set of stamps.

All Jeremy has to do is look at a stamp with the magnifying glass he
also inherited from his grandfather, and he finds himself aboard
whatever ship he is studying. Time travel renders him invisible, but he
can still be heard, feel the cold, and bump into things, which is
precisely how he meets Harv, another invisible stamp traveller. Together
they experience Captain James Cook’s numerous voyages and, in the
process, Jeremy makes an important discovery of his own.

The author does a good job of balancing and overlapping Jeremy’s two
lives. Readers sympathize with the emotional turmoil he experiences at
the prospect of a custody battle in his real life, and they are fearful
of the physical dangers he encounters while aboard the ships. As an
added bonus, Taylor brings Captain Cook’s explorations to life,
providing youngsters with an enjoyable history lesson. Pictures of the
ship stamps Jeremy visits appear on the first page of each chapter to
rouse readers’ interest even further. This book nicely rounds out the
series, though Taylor hasn’t closed the door on the possibility of a
Ghost Voyages IV. Highly recommended.