Jacky's Back!

Over my kids' Fall Break we went to Gulf Shores, Alabama and hung out on the beach.  I took the iPad with the coveted- only on a Kindle- not on paper yet- "The Wake of the Lorelei Lee: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, On Her Way To Botany Bay".  (Long enough for ya?)  This is the eighth book in the Bloody Jack series by L.A. Meyer.  

The things that were bothering me the most in the book as far as unbelievable-ness goes (I know, that's not a word) were explained in the back of the book by the author as being historically accurate.  Quite cool. 

What is it about Jacky?  Mostly incredibly unbelievable, I still want more of her.  She's spunky, courageous, daring, nutty, sexy, and fun.  Who else could wear a bathing suit, or smuggle a stolen diving bell, or remain a virgin in ships full of sailors and pirates? 
 
In this book we find Jacky a prisoner on a ship bound for Australia.  (Not a nice thing.)  She's put in contact with many of her old acquaintances, some nice some not.  She also meets some new "friends" such as the crazy Chinese pirate queen... (ahem.)  I thought for sure she and Jaimy would tie the knot in this book, but it looks like there are more adventures to come.   Stormy seas ahead, Jacky!

Until September?

Another "end-of-the-series" (for now) depression...

Just finished Rapture of the Deep in the "Bloody Jack" series.
In this, the 7th installment in the exciting life of Jacky Faber, A.K.A. "Bloody Jack," La Belle Jeune Fille sans Merci, Little Mary, etc., we find our tiny heroine ready to wed her childhood sweetheart, Jaimy, at last.
Alas, it is not to be.
Poor Jacky and Jaimy will have to wait, because King George calls for them yet again.  This time they are sent across the seas to the Caribbean to hunt for treasure.  The dashing Lord Richard Allen makes an appearance again to save Jacky, and even befriends Jaimy. 
I did enjoy this book, although maybe not as much as some of the others.   Jacky didn't seem as on top of things as she usually is (hey, but she is only 16.)  I couldn't get the image of the amorous pirate, Flaco Jimenez, to not look like Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow.   Not that that image is bad mind you (not at all...)  but Jacky is supposed to be barely sixteen, and Depp is well, more my age.  It drove me crazy. 

Jemimah, Jacky's new cook & advisor, tells many Brer Rabbit stories that are supposed to link in with Jacky's crazy life.  I got it in the end, but not sure it worked in some places. 

Also, I think this was the first time I could tell a man was writing the book, not sure why.
Jacky is such a powerful young woman and a good role model for young girls.   I can't imagine being female in her era.
All in all, it's a fun read and I loved the way it ended.
Now I will have to wait until September 13, 2010 to live the next Jacky adventure!

Here Comes the Calvary! (And dancing girls?)

My Bonny Light Horseman is the sixth installment in the "Bloody Jack Faber" series by L.A. Meyer.
In this book we find the lovable Jacky sailing the seas as an honest shipping company captain.  (Her own Faber Shipping company.)  Of course things can't stay pleasant and she's taken by the British, then French Navy and then forced into the British Intelligence as a spy!  (What they've been trying to do for, what- three books now?)
She is installed in Paris as a dancing girl to get information from Napoleon's men, and then finds herself once again incognito as a "boy" in the French army!  Not as much singing and dancing takes place (they are at war you know.)
Napoleon himself makes an appearance and the Legion of Honor medal is given to someone...
Many of Jacky's past crushes make another appearance (Randall, Joseph, Jaimy) and a new one also falls for the famous pirate.
I can't seem to like Jaimy as much as I did despite his circling the globe for Jacky. He's a bit foofy for me for some reason.  I do however find Joseph Jarrod VERY interesting and secretly wish she'd choose him instead...
Now on to the next book!

Down the Mississippi

Mississippi Jack, the 5th book in the "Bloody Jack Faber" books was interesting.
Jacky escapes the slave ship, with her finishing school classmates, to be apprehended by the British Navy (yet again.)  And Jaimy at the end of the gangplank in Boston too!  Poor Jacky, she never catches a break.  She manages to escape once again with much aid by her trusted friends, and sets off in the New World towards the Allegheny River.  On her trip downriver to New Orleans she picks up many new friends (and meets many old enemies) as well as a riverboat or two (or three.) 
Lots of adventures and Jaimy gets to tell more of his story in this book as he follows her around America trying to catch her.  Poor Jaimy.  (Well, not really if you read the story!) Not sure if I like that boy.
Now to find the next one... (wow, I am addicted.)

Pirate Fun

Okay, I admit it.  I'm obsessive.  I get hooked on a good author and read everything they write, then go onto the next.  So, I just finished the third L.A. Meyer book in the Jacky Faber series- Under the Jolly Roger.  

I just love the way he writes!  Most male authors don't capture what it is to be a woman (in this case a teenage girl) but I think he really gets it.  This book had Jacky meet back up with her Jaimy, and become a privateer!
Great read.

Blue Tattoos

I am so enamored with the "Bloody Jack/ Jacky Faber" series by L.A. Meyer right now.  They are as addictive as Twilight, but a bit more intellectual.  Historical fiction written for probably 9th grade up (because of violence and sexuality about like the level of Twilight) they are quick reads and very entertaining.
The second book in the series, The Curse of the Blue Tattoo, tells us of Jacky's plight after she is put off the Dolphin in Boston.  Enrolled in an elite girl's finishing school she is quite out of place for a London beggar lass from Cheapside and has to learn how to cope in a world of women (which can fight much dirtier than any men can.)

She learns quite a bit and once again the author leaves us wanting more, more, and more!  I  put this one down and was mad at myself for not checking out at least two at a time from the library.  I'm so glad there are eight in the series so I won't have to be left yearning for more for at least a month! :)

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!