Iceberg
Cover Page
Name: G.Rao
Title of Book: Iceberg
Author: Jennifer A. Nielsen
Date: February 2026
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Copyright Year: 2023
Number of pages: 352
Ages: 9 - 14
Rating: * * * * *
About The Author
Jennifer A. Nielsen lives in Utah with her family and her pets. She has been writing since her time in elementary school, and since then she has written 40 books! She has also won numerous awards, including the 2023 outstanding achievement award, several Whitney awards, and she was also named the Inaugural Utah Ambassador of Young People’s Literature. The book Iceberg was a #1 New York Times best-seller! In addition to being an amazing author, Mrs. Nielsen also has many hobbies and interests. She loves authentic pho, which is a Vietnamese noodle soup, a lot like Japanese ramen. She also loves enjoying Northern Utah mountains, and loves spending time with her family. Just like me, one of her favorite authors is J.K. Rowling ( For those of you who are wondering, her full name is Joanne Kathleen Rowling).
Book Summary
Twelve year old Hazel Rothbury is sent to work with her aunt in a factory in New York in hopes of sending money back to her family. To get to New York, Hazel is to go on the renowned ship - the R.M.S. Titanic. Hazel is sent with a small shoulder bag containing barely over £2, and some clothes. The prices in third class can go up to 8 pounds, and when Hazel boards the ship, the ticket agent says that the price is £3. Back in 1912, £3 was a massive amount for a poor family, roughly equal to $400 today! Hazel does not have the money, so she hides in a big bag and stows away on the ship. She is discovered by one of the workers on the ship, and the worker (Charlie) is incredibly kind, so he gives Hazel a one-person cabin, including amenities.
During the course of the voyage, Hazel makes new friends and enemies, discovers very interesting facts about the ship, perfect for her interest in journalism. Her particularly special friend, Mrs. Abelman is very kind to her, and even lends her a special notebook to write down everything about the Titanic, for her career in journalism. When Hazel hears about the colossal iceberg on the route of the ship, she gets extremely scared. Mrs. Abelman gets stuck on the ship, and no one knows that she is there. Hazel hopes that herself and her friends will survive the catastrophe. Will they stay alive, or will they sink along with the ship? Hazel was a budding journalist, who had great hopes to publish a journal about the secrets of the Titanic.
My Analysis
During the escape, Hazel’s enemy, Mrs. Mollison tries to disguise her husband as a girl, because the rule was women and children first. Mr. Mollison gets discovered, and he gets into big trouble. He grabs Hazel and throws her into a life boat, but Hazel wants to stay and help people escape. The lifeboat reaches the other ship, the RMS Carpathia. Hazel survives, but she doesn’t know if her friends survived.
The leather-bound notebook that Mrs. Abelman gives Hazel proves to be useful. Whenever something interesting happens on the ship, Hazel writes it down immediately. Hazel also had big dreams to be a journalist, and her notebook was very precious as it contained many secrets about the Titanic that nobody else knows of…
Not many people know this, but there was actually a fire in the Titanic that wasn't particularly detrimental to the sinking. On the outside, the Titanic looked incredible, but on the inside, it was actually a big ship with a fire inside. None of the characters/passengers know that the ship would sink, and they also don’t know about the fire. This shows that because something/someone looks nice or perfect on the outside, doesn’t mean that it is the same way on the inside.
Hazel is very poor, and that affects the way she is referred to in the book. Hazel has a good friend named Sylvia Thorngood. Sylvia is extremely rich, and of course she is in first class. When Hazel is invited to lunch with Sylvia, she does not have any nice clothes to wear. Sylvia knows about Hazel’s poverty, so she lends a dress to Hazel. Sylvia’s governess, Miss Gruber does not approve of Hazel because she is very poor, and that Hazel is in third class. That is called classism. Hazel ignores all the mean comments about how she is poor, and focuses on the good ones. She helps everyone on the ship during the sinking, even the Mollisons and Miss Gruber. They also prove to be quite nice people!
My Conclusion
This book was incredible, and perfect for 9-14 year olds. It is a mixture of comedy, action, and a tiny bit of tragedy. A reviewer from Amazon said “Fascinating story with such great details. Even though I knew what was going to happen, it kept me engaged the whole time. The twists and turns were amazing.” I definitely agree with this person. I loved the book so much, and I really hope you love it as much as me!
