1. When did you first understand who the head in the hold had to be? What clues revealed his identity?

2. Why would Charlotte Doyle consider the Seahawk her home at the conclusion of The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle?

3. Did the appendix assist you in comprehending the events on the Seahawk? Is there additional information you wish you had?

4. Charlotte's father holds a position in the company that owns the Seahawk. How plausible is it for her to evade him by joining the crew of the Seahawk?

5. Why would Charlotte believe her father would comprehend what happened to her? Why does he fail to understand?

6. Charlotte is thirteen years old. Is that too young for someone to run away and become a sailor?

7. The crew of the Seahawk were willing to let Charlotte be hanged for a crime they thought someone else committed. Why would Charlotte forgive them? Why would she trust them enough to rejoin them at the novel's end?

8. Was Charlotte's decision to join the crew the right choice? Should she have stayed in her cabin or taken a different action?

9. Why doesn't Charlotte realize Captain Jaggery is insane sooner than she does?

10. What does Charlotte mean when she asserts that joining the ship's crew is not "unnatural" but rather "unusual"?