Kaitlyn Dorroh and “Adam’s Cape: The Missing Crew”

Adventures at Sea

Rising high school junior pens children’s book in honor of cousin

by Renee Roberson photos courtesy of Katrina Dorroh

Kaitlyn Dorroh at the book’s launch party in Davidson last month.

Langtree Charter Academy rising junior Kaitlyn Dorroh says from the time she learned how to write, she always knew she wanted to write a book. This summer, she accomplished that goal by teaming up with an illustrator to publish a children’s chapter book titled “Adam’s Cape: The Missing Crew,” through Headline Books.

The book is described as “a swash buckling adventure with two cousins, Kaitlyn and Adam.” While on a family vacation together they are transported to Captain Green-Eyed Pirate’s Island, who has lost his crew and treasure to Captain Billy One-Tooth and needs help from the two cousins. “Adam’s Cape: The Missing Crew” is 64 pages and features illustrations by Alyson Record, whom Dorroh met at a summer camp where Record was a counselor.

In 2006, Dorroh’s cousin Adam McDougall passed away from injuries he sustained in an automobile accident, along with his father. His 20-month-old brother Conner, survived, but suffered a traumatic spinal cord injury. Dorroh’s aunt founded Oklahomabased Adam’s Cape Medical Fund, which helps support children and their families with medical needs or crises. A portion of the proceeds from Dorroh’s book sales will go to Adam’s Cape Medical Fund.

Dorroh says she came up with the original idea for the story while on a family vacation to the Isle of Palms in South Carolina and began writing different pieces of the first draft over four or five years. Once she had a complete manuscript, she sent it to several different English teachers and asked for their thoughts on story structure, plot, and character development.

“I’m so glad we had other people read it because they were able to give it a lot of good feedback,” Dorroh says.

When asked about what she would like readers to take away from the book, Dorroh says, “Believe in yourself. There are a lot of times the characters thought they couldn’t escape or that there was no way out. But if you believe you can, then you can accomplish many things.”

When not writing, studying, or working at Ben & Jerry’s, Dorroh enjoys skateboarding, playing softball and participating in cheer for Langtree Charter Academy.

Last month she participated in a launch party for the book with Main Street Books and Ben & Jerry’s in Davidson featuring pirates, ice cream, and a tie-dye station benefitting Adam’s Cape Medical Fund. She also collected books for The Ronald McDonald House.

To learn more about the book, visit www.adamscapeadventures.org.