Nicola Skinner's inventive, funny, surprising prose once again tells an honest story of big emotions, making Starboard the perfect follow-up to the critically acclaimed Storm.

Kirsten Bramble is too famous to have friends. That's what she tells herself, anyway?but with the end of her hit reality TV show barreling toward her, Kirsten's not sure she's ready to say goodbye to her lonely life of fame.

Luckily?or unluckily?Kirsten can't help being plunged headfirst into a new adventure when she's dragged on a class trip to visit the SS Great Britain. Because somehow, the ancient ship can speak to her?and she wants Kirsten to be her new captain.

The ship pulls out of the harbor with no sails and no working engine, and try as Kirsten might, she can't convince the ship to turn back until they find a way to help her finish her final quest.

Kirsten doesn't feel like a captain?but along the way, she may just realize that the ending of an adventure, while scary, can be just as special as the beginning.

Nicola Skinner was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where she spent an idyllic early childhood mostly watching some very dramatic telenovelas, reading comics, and going to the beach. When she was nine, she swapped all of that to attend boarding school in Great Britain, which didn't have beaches, unfortunately, but where she learned a love for books and writing. A former journalist and copywriter, she is now a full-time author of children's books.