TEETONCEY AND BEN O'NEAL

by Theodore Taylor ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1975

Readers of Teetoncey (1974) will recollect that this was the dialect nickname (meaning ""small"") Ben O'Neal and his Ma gave English Wendy Appleton, sole survivor, thanks to Ben's rescue, of a shipwreck off the Outer Banks of North Carolina. For Ma, Teetoncey is the daughter she never had, and Ben is grudgingly drawn to admire the girl's spunk. But as an orphan she is a ward of the state and is due to be sent back to England; and then there are those chests of silver belonging to Wendy which lie somewhere with the doomed ship. Ben's clandestine salvage maneuvers and Ma O'Neal's spirited and successful attempts to thwart officialdom and keep Wendy climax as Ma O'Neal, with Wendy's approval, casts a fortune into the sea--a heart-stopping demonstration of what Ma thinks of greed and unfeeling authorities in general. At the close Ma dies, and the growing maturity of Ben and Wendy--a strong undercurrent throughout, as Ben's love for his mother gradually surfaces and Wendy begins to take charge of her own life--prepares them both to accept the loss and go their separate ways. We hope they'll meet again. A complex but skillfully developed story with fine period detail (particularly about seacoast salvage operations), and some attractive, feisty people.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1975

ISBN: 0152052976

Page Count: 186

Publisher: Doubleday

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1975

Categories: FICTION