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Summary: Review of Pirates
Review: This book by Celia Rees was really good. It is set on the Atlantic Ocean in the late 17th century. Surprisingly it is more a book girls would enjoy then boys. There are some gory parts that might not be enjoyed. The writing is good and the plot filled with adventure. The author really makes the reader feel that you are on the ship right next to the characters. There is a lot of romance too but not too much. The book is a must read for anyone interested in pirates or the high seas.
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Summary: Promising start, but doesn't quite come through.
Review: This book is intense, descriptive, beautifully written prose. The characters (especially the unflappable Minerva) are interesting and likable, if sometimes too good to be true. The first part of the book, describing Nancy's life in England, is flawless. In some ways, Nancy really grows up over the course of the novel, and that's a delight.
But I spent the last half of the book waiting for her to *finish* growing up by somehow dealing with her infatuation with William, the neighbor-boy-turned-Navy-officer. Her devotion seems unmerited, when she's seen him three times in six years. Yet she plans to marry him, and he plans to stay in the Navy, but she wants to stay a sailor/pirate. I waited, and waited, and waited for her to see that it just wouldn't work. Or for William to see her again and call the whole thing off, or for him to turn pirate and join her crew, or for a letter that actually displays William's personality (if he has one). I waited for some resolution of the heroine's adolescent crush, as befits a coming of age story -- and it never came.
Rating: 
Summary: A Great Piratical Story
Review: This book was defintely one of the best I've ever read. The author writes in a way that keeps you reading and turning pages in suspense, curiosity, and wonder. The separate tales of these two young ladies combined with the thrilling tale of their time together is really great, especially those who like stories about the power of young women and adventure. Although the length (or the width rather) may frighten you, it will be finished before you know it!I wish Celia Rees would write a sequel!!
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Summary: "Throw 'im in the hold with the captain's daughter"
Review: This is a novel for girls who like Pirates of the Caribbean; Nancy and Minerva are at least as exciting as heroes and pirates as the characters played by Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom. (And much more interesting than the girl in that movie!) Nancy is a wealthy planter's daughter whose brothers attempt to marry her off to a violent and scary man to pay off their gambling debts. Minerva is her slave - and her friend. They "go on account" with an able and fair captain who rarely kills people. It's very good in the pirate history and a fun read.
Someone said a girl of Nancy's social class wouldn't have done turned pirate. But Rees spent 150 pages exploring how little Nancy cared for upper class values and people. It wasn't easy for either girl to become pirate, their situation was truly dire. The class and racial politcs ring as true as the piracy -- the most democratic place in the early 18 century is a pirate ship! Like Witch Child and Sorceress, I hope there will be another book about Nancy and Minerva.
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Summary: Pirates?
Review: This is the kind of story that I feel would make an excellent screen play, but as a book, it's rather dull. The book is too short to truly maximize the story, and it seems like it was written by a young adult for young adults. There is no deep description and the characters could have been much better fleshed out. I liked the story a lot, and I think there ought to be more piratical adventure stories, but this one just didn't deliver enough details, description, good charictarization, or any unusual plot twists. The whole thing was pretty predictable. The plotline would be great for something like Pirates of the Caribbean 2, though.
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Summary: Another good adventure for girls...
Review: This second young-adult pirate novel I've recently read (Bloody Jack being the first) is another wonderful foray into the action-adventure realm for girls.
The book attempts in its own way to address all the social wrongs of the late 18th century - slavery, lack of female equality, classism, etc. etc. It's also full of "the moral of the story" kind of stuff, with evil never quite prospering, even in its many subplot attempts. The book mostly avoids a preachy tone, though, and brings a wonderful adventure that has just a slight supernatural background (much credence is put in dreams, here.)
The characters in this book are strong, though they are in rather unbelievable positions. There is a beautiful friendship between two young girls, told from the point of view of one of them. There is love, death, greed, fear, exhiliration - everything but a sea monster - to keep the reader reeling through the story.
All in all, a very fun read.
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Summary: A THRILLING STORY EVOCATIVELY READ
Review: Today it is not at all unusual to find women taking on and conquering tasks that were once for men only - women soar into outer space, climb mountains, and fill top level political positions. However, such was not the case a short while ago. After all, in the total scheme of history several hundred years ago is a brief period, and that is where this high seas adventure begins.Celia Rees brings us the story of Nancy Kingston and Minerva Sharpe, two young women who more than kicked over the traces with astounding bravery and spirit. Nancy is our narrator, and voice performer Jennifer Wiltsie who delivers a bravura reading perfectly captures the nuances of 18th language as she describes Nancy's horror upon discovering the cruelties of slavery. When Nancy's father, her remaining parent, dies she journeys to her family's plantation in Jamaica. She doesn't know that her brothers intend to marry her off to a despicable Caribbean whom she has never met. In addition to this dreadful thought she is appalled by the condition of the slaves on her late father's plantation. Little did she realize that they were treated so inhumanely. Befriending Minerva, a slave girl close to her age, the two find they have much in common - primarily a desire to flee from the island. So, the two do run off and join the crew of a pirate ship. As one would expect life on a pirate ship is fraught with excitement; there's everything from mutiny to storms at sea to duels to harrowing escapes. While the story is suggested for 7 to 10 graders, adults will find themselves listening in, quickly absorbed by this thrilling story, and Ms. Wiltsie's evocative reading. - Gail Cooke
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