This book is the perfect combination of narrative and historical fact. Mullenbach explores the full historical context of the sinking of this ship. The portrayal of the sinking itself is almost clinical, allowing the reader to absorb all of the facts with very little emotional manipulation. This means that what we feel reading about these tragic events is genuine. While Mullenbach's book presents a fairly in depth exploration, it's scope is fairly narrow. Hopefully that will mean that readers finish this book hungry for more, leading them to read more about naval warfare and World War II.

While I had heard of the Lusitania, I had never heard of the SS Athena, a passenger ship sunk by German U-boats as it made its way back to the United States. Though the story is fascinating--I highly recommend it--I did find it hard to suspend disbelief about how the passengers felt reassured that the Germans would not torpedo their vessel, after all, they surely had heard of the Lusitania.

Torpedoed was a realistic account of the sinking of the British passenger liner, Athenia, by the Germans. This occurred during the very early days of World War II, on September 3,1939. Parts of this story were told through the eyes of two teenagers, Florence and Russell. Florence was traveling with her mother, while Russell was with his mom and dad.
The author thoroughly engaged the reader throughout this story. I especially liked the inclusion of the people who helped the survivors. They were ordinary citizens who opened up their homes, wallets, and overall generosity to complete strangers. This reminded me how these altruistic acts were once again needed after the 9/11 attacks. I also liked how the author included Germany's actions after they torpedoed the ship. They tried to divert guilt away from themselves and spread propaganda by accusing the British of sinking Athenia to gain sympathy from the United States to enter the war. Of course, the truths were disclosed at the Nuremberg Trials.
For educators, this is an excellent book to have on hand as World War II is examined from different perspectives and especially from a personal account.

Torpedoed is the story of the sinking of the Athenia passenger ship at the start of Britain's involvement in World War I and the aftermath that followed. The reader experiences the events that took place through the eyes of a 14 year old girl named Florence and an 11 year old boy named Russell. A great deal of historical information is presented in this book. I thought the use of primary documents, in the form of photos, was a great addition to the story and enhanced the information. I was expecting a different type of story based on the summary given. I thought the children had actually met and experienced the tragedy together. Although this is written in a narrative format it feels like more of a listing of events than the story of what took place. A detailed account of what happened is presented with many quotes from the people who experienced it first hand. The epilogue at the end of the book lets the reader know what happened to Florence and Russell once the events came to a close. The epilogue also includes some information on a passenger named Stephen who was only a year old when the tragedy took place. This title would be good for any readers who would enjoy a detailed account of historical events.

This had a very interesting premise-two kids surviving the torpedoing of a ship in World War 2 but to me, the writing felt so disconnected and so disorganized. There were lots of references to what was about to happen but such a crazy assortment of details that seemed so unimportant (like menus from the ship) but other things that seemed important were glossed over or not investigated, or maybe there just wasn't documentation. It was not my favorite.

Great nonfiction read for 4th and 5th graders and classroom libraries!