One Girl One Dream

Review of "One Girl One Dream" by Laura Dekker. This book is an autobiography chronicling the author's solo sail around the world between the ages of 14 and 16. It was originally written in Dutch and translated to English. The book goes somewhat into Laura's history as she born on a boat in New Zealand during her parent's 7 year sailing voyage of the world. It also chronicles in a chapter the Dutch authorities attempts to stop her and take her from her parents. The book is very detailed about the sailing and some terminology may require being looked up. It is also somewhat like a diary with brief descriptions of her many stops on different islands and the friends she makes while sailing and at the many ports. The way she feels and grows during her 2 years at sea make for very fast reading. This girl's story is inspirational and amazing. A great read 5/5 Stars

I watched the documentary “Maidentrip”, I thought was intriguing but not particularly well made; it prompted me to read her book seeking the rest of the story. As it often is, it was much, much better than the movie. Laura’s trip is an amazing enterprise, it show everything that is good about entrepreneurial spirits. The narrative is simple, at the beginning a bit too technical about the sailing vocabulary, soon after acquiring the language the book becomes a smooth fun and entertaining reading. The book includes drawings and schematics as appendices depicting the boat that makes easier to follow Laura’s description. Regardless of ghost writing, this is a great story that I wish more teens would read. Laura shows that there are those rare exceptions in life were the quote: “Youth is wasted on the young” does not apply. She concludes by saying that her trip was as much an oceans of the world journey as it was a journey to change herself, to make her aware of who she is and what she wants her life to be. Reading it makes you want to drop whatever you are doing and go sailing to exciting places. I just hope her spirit remains undaunted throughout her life, and chooses to contribute her enormous leadership potential to the world in endeavours other than sailing; perhaps by becoming a global advocate for causes around environmental protection of the oceans.

It was a great adventure and you have to admire Laura for her courage and determination in the face of the dutch authorities who tried every way they could to stop her.. It was none of their business!!! After reading the chronicle of her voyage you come away with a sense of her toughness and ability to endure whatever the sea threw at her. I couldn't help but contrast her non-whiny rugged attitude to endure whatever came her way with the next book I am reading about a retired couple who go cruising in a 37' sailboat with all the amenities. Laura was 14 when she started out and they were in the mid 50's. After reading Laura's book all you can think is the retired couple are whining wimps when a little storm comes their way or a few rough seas. Anyway, One Girl One Dream was a worthwhile read and you come away admiring her for her strength and sailing skills. That girl is no wimp! PS. My wife and I also went and saw the documentary film about Laura called "Maiden Trip" If you get a chance go see the film and then read with book. Good stuff!

I'll keep it short. This is an awesome book and it is motivational. Laura's determination to conquer her own goal became a bigger story than just sailing because of government interference. While it is not the main plot, it is, just like many things that get in our way as we try "out of the box" things, it serves as a distracter and traumatic situation that should have never occurred. I watch the movie and then read the book which gave me a strong visual as the events unfolded in her book. This story, her story, has made me start to plan my adventure for retirement into sailing the world as well which will be a soul cleanser for me because of my chosen profession(s). This will force me to slow down and enjoy life while I discover the rest of the world. Order this book and watch the movie on Netflix while you wait for the book to arrive. It is a good story for all ages, especially the young, the poor, girls, boys, men women, well everyone. Just get it and let me know if you agree.

Very interesting book recounting 14 year old sailor Laura Dekker's trip around the world. Gives a somewhat surprising account of her family's legal battles with the Dutch school authorities, escalating to the prime minister, and a year in the courts, where she finally prevailed. The outfitting of her modified 38 foot Jeanneau cruising sailboat and her extensive sailing experience. You forget how young she is as she writes in a very straight forward somewhat technical way when describing her passages, reminiscent of some old stiff upper lip world traveler, then a few paragraphs later will sound very young, recounting a story about hiding some food on her plate that she doesn't like so as not to offend her hosts. Nice mix of seamanship beyond her years and a very personal view on her round the world travels. Not a person interested in fame or record books, a strong personality with insights way beyond her age. Great book especially for young people with some familiarity with boats.

You need to read this book !!! From the moment I got it I couldn’t put it down。I read it straight through all the way around the world with this brave and talented young girl. Leaving her friends and family to take on the challenges of the deep blue and crazy weather patterns. She and Guppy weathered every storm and every squall they faced. Laura made do with what spares she had onboard. She was resourceful and able to fix everything and keep Guppy moving most all the time. It wasn’t all smooth sailing. Laura describes everything perfectly on her amazing journey. Laura visited many beautiful exotic places and got to meet and make friends with lots of nice people. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I did.⛵️😎🤙

Laura's story is an inspiration for anyone of any age. Instead of giving in to impossible odds, and people with their own agendas, she stood up, stepped out and fulfilled her dream. Well done Laura. The life experience gained and the fact she also disciplined herself to write daily under difficult circumstances is something no education system could have taught her.

Beautifully written in every sense. I appreciate good grammar, sentence structure underlying a great story. The story is very much about the joys of sailing and experiencing new people and places. It wasn't a slog through harsh oceans. Laura uses, "we" often to show her relationship to the boat and project. A tip of the hat to her father for helping her prepare the boat so well. As a boat guy, I'd have liked a bit more about the vessel and it outfitting.