Some of the topics Mayflower touched upon were the hardships the Pilgrims faced (such as disease, death), the relationship with the Native Americans they had, as well as a multitude of others. Mr. Philbrick's writing was very engaging in such a way that ones eye may never come of the page unless to address an emergency. He does a very nice job of distinguishing the important facts (characters, setting, problems). The only thing about the Mayflower that people could question was why he didn't write more!
Mr. Philbrick had much credibility to his name when it comes to historical writing. Aside from degrees from both Brown and Duke University, he has won many awards for his work. His writing style may be geared towards college students and adults but a high school honors student will be more than likely to grasp the main ideas. A high school student may find it boring or lagging at times but as a whole they should be able to learn and be amazed at what they don't know.
As previously said, majority of high school honors students should be able to pull information off the pages but I believe this book is geared for an older audience. Don't get me wrong! This book is filled with truthful and accurate information that can be beneficial to a literature discussion in a high school classroom, similar to the one we had. But make sure if assigning this to read, a discussion takes place afterwards. Many students will better understand what the read by talking about it.
Overall Mayflower by Nathaniel Philbrick is an engaging book with so much information stored within so few pages. Make sure you know what level of a reader you are before picking up this book. You'll be glad if you do find your hand flipping through the pages though.
Rating- 3 1/2 stars
