"Flynn . . . " Sally's voice was soft and serious. "We're going away."

When Flynn is told to look after his little sister, he isn't pleased. A day at the beach should be about fishing and adventure, not looking for shells and whinging. But then Sally finds an old wooden crate, and Flynn starts a game. No longer a plain crate, now it's a pirate ship, with Sally and Flynn the pirates and Sally's cat Nebu the ship's cat. Only Flynn doesn't notice that the ship really is moving - until they are too far from the shore to do anything.

Out at sea, with no food, no water and no idea how he will get home, Flynn must take responsibility for Sally in a way he could never have forseen. As he struggles to keep them alive he develops a gradual understanding of his troubled relationship with his sister and with his father.

Adrift, first published in 1984, is a classic book from a classic author. It is a story which withstands the test of time - still relevant and exciting for children of the noughties.

Still good reading.

Adrift, by Allan Baillie
Thomas Nelson, 1984

Other Adventure Stories

Black Snake, by Carole Wilkinson
Cry of the Karri, by Errol Broome
Cooper Riley, by Maureen Edwards