line: name for rope aboard a boat or ship
mess hall: a place similar to a cafeteria where food is served
midwatch: watch shift from 12 to 4 a.m.
milch cows: German submarines sent out to specific points to refuel U-boats
observation platform: Also known as a crow’s nest. A fixed platform often attached to the forward mast with protective railing from which an observer with binoculars can look for other ships, especially enemy ships, as well as use signal flags to send messages to other friendly ships.
Pearl Harbor: A naval base in Hawaii that was bombed by the Imperial Japanese Navy on December 7, 1941. This attack marked the US’s entry into World War II, with war being declared the next day. Twenty-one ships were sunk or damaged and run aground, including eight battleships and three destroyers. 2,403 men were killed and another 1,178 were wounded.
periscope: a long tube that contains lenses and mirrors and is used to look over or around something, especially by a person in a submarine to see above the surface of the water
pilot house: platform on the bridge
port: left-hand side when facing the front of a ship
safety line: length of rope tied between a person and a ship to prevent falling overboard
shakedown cruise: a voyage that tests a ship’s performance before the ship is sent out to sea
sick bay: area on a ship that acts as an infirmary or hospital
Siege of Leningrad: A military attack by the Germans on Leningrad in the USSR. It started on September 8, 1941, and lasted 872 days, ending on January 27, 1944. At this time, Leningrad was the capital of the USSR and the Germans were trying to defeat the country by taking out this one city. It was a major political city, with important military operations and numerous factories based there, plus a huge population. While Leningrad never surrendered, the attack on the city over two and a half years caused incredible destruction and loss of lives—to date, it is the most deadly siege in history. More than 1.5 million people were killed during the siege, most of them women and children, many of them from starvation and disease.
skiff: small boat
skivvies: term for underwear in the navy
sonar: system for detecting objects using sound waves
squawk box: a loudspeaker
starboard: right-hand side when facing the front of a ship
superstructure: the part of a ship above the main deck
survivor net: a net hung over the side of a ship for crew members to climb down to lifeboats if they are forced to abandon ship, or on which survivors from other sinking ships can climb on board a rescue ship from their lifeboats or from the water
U-boat: a shortening of Unterseeboot, which means “undersea boat” in German; refers to German submarines
USSR: stands for Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; name of what is now called Russia from 1922 to 1991
wolf pack: a group of submarines working together on a coordinated attack
Many thanks to Kelly Sonnack and Jody Corbett—as much collaborators as wonderful agent and editor. Thanks also to Maeve Norton for her terrific design, Melissa Schirmer for keeping us all on track, and Jody Revenson for her eagle-eye copyediting. And thank you to the rest of the Scholastic team, including Brooke Shearouse, Jana Haussmann, and all the others behind the scenes—from sales to marketing—who were invaluable in bringing Sink or Swim to life.
Steve Watkins is the author of the novels Juvie; What Comes After; Great Falls; Down Sand Mountain, winner of the Golden Kite Award; and the Ghosts of War series, including The Secret of Midway, Lost at Khe Sanh, AWOL in North Africa, and Fallen in Fredericksburg.
A former professor of journalism, creative writing, and Vietnam War literature, Steve now runs a nonprofit yoga studio and works with an urban reforestation organization in his hometown of Fredericksburg, Virginia.
ALSO BY STEVE WATKINS
Ghosts of War series
The Secret of Midway
Lost at Khe Sanh
AWOL in North Africa
Fallen in Fredericksburg
Copyright © 2017 by Steve Watkins
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The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party websites or their content.
While inspired by real events and historical characters, this is a work of fiction and does not claim to be historically accurate or portray factual events or relationships. Please keep in mind that references to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales may not be factually accurate, but rather fictionalized by the author.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Watkins, Steve, 1954– author.
Title: Sink or swim / Steve Watkins.
Description: First edition. | New York : Scholastic Press, 2017. | Summary: In January 1942, twelve-year-old Colton is on his family’s fishing boat in the Atlantic with his older brother Danny when the boat is capsized by a Nazi U-boat, and Danny is severely injured; realizing how close the enemy is, Colton takes his brother’s enlistment papers and joins the Navy, determined to do his part to defeat Germany—if only he can keep his age a secret and survive life at sea.
Identifiers: LCCN 2017003934 | ISBN 9781338057904
Subjects: LCSH: United States. Navy—Juvenile fiction. | World War, 1939–1945—Naval operations, American—Juvenile fiction. | World War, 1939–1945—Campaigns—Atlantic Ocean—Juvenile fiction. | Adventure stories. | War stories. | United States—History—1933–1945—Juvenile fiction. | CYAC: United States. Navy—Fiction. | World War, 1939–1945—Naval Operations—Fiction. | World War, 1939–1945—Campaigns—Atlantic Ocean—Fiction. | Adventure and adventurers—Fiction. | United States—History—1933–1945—Fiction. | LCGFT: War fiction. | Action and adventure fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.W3213 Si 2017 | DDC 813.6 [Fic]—dc23
First edition, November 2017
Jacket art © 2017 by Larry Rostant
Jacket design by Maeve Norton
e-ISBN 978-1-338-05791-1
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