Jack London 
The Cruise of the Dazzler 

'The Cruise of the Dazzler’ is an early novel by Jack London, set in his home city of San Francisco. It is considered a boy’s adventure novel. Joe Bronson is dissatisfied with his dull life at school and feels ashamed when compared to his younger sister’s much better results. Frustrated after failing an exam and threatened with military school by his father, he decides to run away and join the crew of a sloop he sees in San Francisco Bay. But he may have gotten more than he bargained for, when he discovers that the captain is in fact involved in criminal activities…