Saturday, February 20, 2010

Bloody Jack! (Or the cabin girl?)

One of our childrens' librarians recommended this book to me as a read-aloud for the kids.
I usually (almost always) pre-read what I'll read to the kids or let them read, so I got on it last night.
It was an exciting read and I finished it (well, by 2am.)
I really enjoyed the language and the descriptions of life in the late 1700's early 1800's in London.
but very glad I read it first. 
Definitely not appropriate for a 7 yr old and probably not for my 12 yr old. 
For example the Jacky has to have the reason behind her "strange bleeding illness" explained to her by a prostitute.  Of course, all the other boys think "he" is a worldly guy for daring to enter the house and he gets quite the reputation.  Also hard to explain subjects like attempted rape,  and lots of dead bodies due to the fact that they hunt pirates...
The main character, Mary (aka Jacky Faber or Bloody Jack) is orphaned at about age 7 or 8.  Her family all dies from the plague and she is literally tossed onto the streets, her clothes stolen, and she joins a gang in one day.
A life-changing event occurs when she is somewhere around 11 or 12, and she takes on the role of a boy to escape some hardships.  She even talks her way onto a Royal Navy warship and is taken on as a ship's boy.  There she finds her love of the sea (and of a certain someone.)
Fun read for ages 15 up, I think.
There are eight other books and I'm going to get the next one on Monday!  Fun read, maties!

2 comments:

Becky said...

Thanks for the recommendation! Just added it to my list. I recently purchased The Mysterious Benedict Society and was wondering if you thought it would appeal to 8 year olds?

Panamamama said...

I know my 7 yr old likes The Mysterious Benedict society books. I read them to him and my 12 yr old at the same time. They have some big vocabulary in them, but I like that part! They are exciting, and a little scary at times, but more on the suspenseful side.

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin