Ghost Voyages

Wendy Berner is a Calgary-based writer, researcher, storyteller, and
educator.

A 9-year-old (an only child) and his mom (a single parent) are perusing
an old stamp album found in a box recently shipped from his
grandmother’s house. Jeremy is not keen, until he discovers the
section of the album that is devoted to stamps of ships. As he peers at
one of these stamps through a magnifying glass, he suddenly feels the
sun on his back, hears men’s voices, and sees trees on the river bank.
Thus begins his entry into time travel. As the book progresses, he
learns that he is not the first to travel in this way.

Ghost Voyages is not strong in terms of characterization or story
development. Mother and son are rather one-dimensional for most of the
story, as well as stereotyped. The book fails to make the most of its
intriguing ingredients. It lacks focus and depth, and the reader derives
little sense of satisfaction from its resolution. The author has written
some fine books, but this one is not among her best. It does, however,
manage to shed light on some interesting times in Canadian history, and
on life at sea long ago.