Compass Murphy by Stephen Potts
Compass Murphy, noun. Otherwise known as Joshua. A boy with a compass in his head; needle pointing: North! Joshua's father has gone missing, last seen on a ship set for Greenland. Joshua therefore decides to stow away on another whaler in search of the one parent he has left. And so begins an adventure more terrifying and exhilarating than any he has ever known, and so too a journey of discovery, full of hope.