Distant Waves: A Novel of the Titanic

by Suzanne Weyn

Overview

From the author of REINCARNATION, another historical, supernatural romance, this time focusing on five sisters whose lives are intertwined with the sinking of the Titanic.

Science, spiritualism, history, and romance intertwine in Suzanne Weyn's newest novel. Four sisters and their mother make their way from a spiritualist town in New York to London, becoming acquainted with journalist W. T. Stead, scientist Nikola Tesla, and industrialist John Jacob Astor. When they all find themselves on the Titanic, one of Tesla's inventions dooms them...and one could save them.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545230056
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	02/01/2010
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
File size:	431 KB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Suzanne Weyn has written many books for young adults including Distant Waves, Reincarnation, Empty, and Invisible World. She lives in New York, and you can find her at www.suzanneweynbooks.com.

Editorial Reviews

Weyn's historical novel climaxes with the sinking of the Titanic, but it begins in 1898 when narrator Jane, the second of five sisters, is four years old and observing her mother, a medium, contact the spirit world for the first time. That same life-changing day, on their way to a spiritualist community outside Buffalo, N.Y., the newly-fatherless family is caught in an artificial earthquake caused by real-life scientist Nikola Tesla. The beginning of the novel centers on the girls' mother's spiritual work, with Jane unsure of her mother's clairvoyance. Science has an equally important role, as Jane becomes obsessed with Tesla, following his career in the paper and then seeking him out. The story's pace is slow, but it picks up as the years pass, and Jane falls in love with Tesla's assistant, Thad. After a trip to England, the sisters find themselves on the Titanic-the author uses a touch of the fantastic to provide a (mostly) happy conclusion. The interplay of science, spirituality, history and romance will satisfy. Ages 12-up.
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Publishers Weekly

Sixteen-year-old Jane Taylor arrives on the Titanic by a circuitous route. Her mother is a famous spiritualist who raised her five daughters in the seance capital of the United States, Spirit Vale, New York. Jane and her mother were both influenced by scientist Nikola Tesla, who proclaimed to them that, "Everything vibrates." Her mother incorporated the saying in her career while Jane was enthralled by Tesla's enigmatic personality. In London for a spiritual conference, two of Jane's sisters predict the Titanic's fate, and all five sisters become trapped on board trying to find Jane's eldest sister, Mimi. Tesla, also on board, tests his earthquake and time machines with notable results. Weyn creates a well-researched novel full of notable historic figures. Jane is a thorough narrator whose depiction of unusual phenomena is straightforward and sincere. Tying together spiritualism, the Titanic, Tesla, and racism is, however, possibly more than one story can comfortably hold. Because historical fact grounds much of the plot, the author is obliged to use coincidence more than is desirable. Dialogue is a large part of the novel, and Jane's romance with Tesla's assistant is a refreshingly light touch in a dense story. The sinking of the Titanic seems somehow less interesting than Jane's desire to probe the interconnectedness of humanity. Nevertheless Jane makes for an appealing narrator, and Titanic addicts will want to sink their teeth into Weyn's shipboard expose on the spiritualist movement. Reviewer: Caitlin Augusta

VOYA - Caitlin Augusta

A novel about family, love, technology, and the Titanic is sure to draw some attention. Jane Taylor, the second oldest of the five Taylor sisters, and the glue that seems to hold them together is sure she is destined for something, though she is not sure what. At the turn of the 20th century, Jane's mom, a famed clairvoyant, moves her family to Spirit Vale, a community of people like her. The girls grow up with a sheltered existence in the small town, but Jane still manages to dream big. An aspiring journalist looking for a big story, she begins to follow the life of inventor Nikola Tesla after an intriguing meeting with him prior to moving to Spirit Vale as a young child. When she learns that he will be staying close by, Jane and her older sister travel into the city so that Jane can conduct an interview with the famed inventor. This trip serves as a catalyst that changes the course of all of their lives and ultimately leads to all five sisters boarding the Titanic. Though this newest book by Weyn promises "a novel of the Titanic," only the culminating events of the story take place aboard the ship. Those hoping for a remake of the "Jack and Rose" love story will be sad and disappointed—though two of the Taylor sisters do indeed find love aboard the ship. Rather, the novel delves into many of the historical events leading up to the embarking of the great ship and the book is peppered with historical names and places and intriguing questions about the real work of Nikola Tesla and the role he played in shaping the American economy. Reviewer: Jeanna Sciarrotta

Children's Literature - Jeanna Sciarrotta

Gr 8 Up—Jane begins her tale with her childhood, as her recently widowed mother struggles to care for her family. While in New York City, they are assisted during an earthquake by the scientist Nikola Tesla, who explains that he caused the event with his latest invention, a device based on the concept that "everything vibrates." Inspired by this idea, and the possibility that it applies to the spirit world, Jane's mother decides to move her daughters to a community of mediums in upstate New York and support them by pursuing her "gift." When Jane is 16, she travels to New York City with her older sister to interview Tesla for a journalism contest and meets his assistant Thad, adding a romantic interest. Several months later, Jane's family travels to England for an international convention of spiritualists. Afterward, two of her sisters board the Titanic, and when their mother hears a prediction that the ship will sink, Jane tries to retrieve them, but is stuck onboard. She makes the ill-fated journey along with Thad and Tesla (who has brought several inventions that could either save the ship or destroy it). Told in gripping first-person narrative, this novel features interesting characters and creates a strong sense of time and place, while exploring the mysteries of the spirit world. An author's note separates fiction from fact and shares further details about real people and events.—Samantha Larsen Hastings, West Jordan Public Library, UT

School Library Journal

As a clever and independent young woman, Jane is skeptical of her mother's work as a renowned spirit medium but not willing to write it off completely; her fate hinges on her agnosticism. Despite multiple predictions of disaster, Jane and her four sisters wind up aboard the Titanic as it departs England on its maiden voyage, and she faces a choice: Should she believe the prophecies and get them all off the ship when it stops in France or Ireland, or should she have faith in science and proceed with the transatlantic crossing? The well-researched story relies heavily on dialogue to impart rich historical detail, resulting in stiff, unnatural exchanges. But Weyn weaves fantasy together with factual threads of the Spiritualist movement, Nikola Tesla's inventions and the celebrity-studded passenger list of the doomed ocean liner to produce a tale that is half history-textbook and half science-fiction-thriller. The author's note clarifies where she has taken liberties with real people and events. For readers who can accept the premise, this is a page-turner. (Historical fantasy. 13 & up)

Kirkus Reviews

* "Weyn's take on the infamous disaster is wholly original."
- Booklist, starred review

"Told in gripping first-person narrative, this novel features interesting characters and creates a strong sense of time and place, while exploring the mysteries of the spirit world."
- School Library Journal

"Weyn weaves fantasy together with factual threads of the Spiritualist movement, Nikola Tesla's inventions and the celebrity-studded passenger list of the doomed ocean liner....A page-turner."
- Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher