Bloody Jack : Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy (Bloody Jack Adventures)

Rating:
Summary: Finally, a book worth reading
Review: As a teenager, I have read numerous books about the same subject. While you read them, they all blend into one another and end the same way, and have no surpises in the plot at all. When I picked up a copy of Mr. Meyer's book, I thought the same about it while i read the summary. To my surprise i was enchanted while reading the first pages. Not only is the story rich with wonderful characters and dialogue, it is filled with sea-faring adventure, romance and humor. I have been told that teenage boys do not appreciate this story, but I am a male, and it is now one of my favorites.If books were money, this one would be gold. Mr. Meyer, I applaud you.

Rating:
Summary: Fabulous seagoing adventure story
Review: Bloody Jack is, without any doubt, the best kid's book I've read since the last Harry Potter. In fact, it holds its own with Harry. It is told by its heroine - a 12 year old girl named Mary Faber who was abandonned on the streets of early 19th century London when her parents died of fever. She tells how she was taken in by a street gang where she gets tough and street wise for five years. At the start of the book, the gang leader is killed. She figures her chances are better as a boy so she cuts off her hair, changes her name to Jacky, and makes her way to the docks where she talks her way on board a British Navy vessel because she can read.

She is one of six cabin boys - mostly street kids who are thrilled to have a chance to eat regularly. They can't believe their luck to be paid as well. During their three year voyage - a mission to chase down pirates, they learn to climb rigging, work as powder monkeys in sea battles with pirates, do all kinds of work on deck and hope to improve their lot by becoming able-bodied seamen and regular members of the crew.

At the same, Jacky has to figure out how to keep her secret while her breasts are developing and she starts her period. She also develops a serious crush on the oldest of the cabin boys - a quiet lad who is the younger son of a real family.

In the process she has all kinds of adventures. The crew battles pirates. (She gets her nickname from shooting a pirate during a battle.) The boys have to learn to handle the discipline of the British Navy where they are junior to everyone including the 14 year old midshipmen - one of whom is a complete bully. They get shore leave in exotic ports like Jamaica. Their conversations about religion and education as they puzzle out the ways of the world are hilariously funny.

Jacky has to use all her ingenuity to keep her secret and survive on board ship. She is courageous, smart, strong and a natural born leader. And she has a sharp, funny voice of her own that tells the story in the manner of a girl who has learned to express herself from London street talk, ballads, newspapers and cheap novels.

One of the best aspects of the book is its portrayal of an adventurous girl who likes being a girl - not a girl who has always wanted to be a boy. There are too many stories where femininity is a synonym for weakness and the girl prevails by adopting male behavior. Not this one.

Jacky acts like herself and - because everyone THINKS she's a boy, they simply deal with it. She likes to sew and decides to make herself a uniform when she starts growing out of her clothes. Do the officers and crew think she is a weak sissy? Nope. Sailors had to sew. The captain issues her more fabric and gives her the job of outfitting the rest of the cabin boys.

In one of the battles, the ship takes a cannon shot that blasts a hole in the side of the vessel. The whole crew is put to manning the pumps. Jacky simply doesn't have the strength to manage. Is this a problem? Nope. Some boys are smaller than others, so they send her up to the top of the rigging because she is smaller and lighter and can get a better view farther up.

In fact, there is no problem with her being a girl - until they discover she is a girl. This is a subtly political point which Meyer makes over and over again - but without preaching or politics. Instead he has created a brilliant character and put her in a hugely entertaining tale and lets the story speak for itself.

This is a fabulous book. Don't start it late at night. You won't want to put it down until you are finished.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't Put It Down!
Review: Both Bloody Jack and The Curse of Blue Tattoo are absolutely irresistable. By the end of the first chapter, you find yourself falling uncontrollably in love with our naive damsel in ditress and by the end of the book, you are jumping up and down in absolute lunacy because you want to know what will happen next. I myself have been waiting, none to patiently for Meyer to release the third book in the series, then again he just release the second this past summer. (no rush Louis, make it good. lol) Even if you don't connect personally with our notorious heroine, you will certainly cheer, weep, and bite your nails off, over the her triamphs, trials, and moments of suspense. You can read these books more than once and still enjoy it as much as you did the first time because of the beautifully blunt and figurative language that captures the imagination and takes you back to the 17th century and the life of Mary "Bloody Jack" Faber.

Rating:
Summary: For a first book this is Good
Review: I picked this book up because I read Priates and wanted something else to read. I am an adult who likes to read books that are good it does not matter that it is for young adults. the author did a good job with this being his first novel. good for you.

Rating:
Summary: Bloody Jack
Review: I thought it was a really,really good book, and i have read many. i almost didnt want it to end. Its about an orphan girl who, after the tradjic death of her beloved Chalie, the leader of the gang of orphans she lived with,escapes this hard unforgiving life by disguising herself as a boy to get a spot on the navel ship The Dolphin. There she gets good, constant meals for the first time in her life and forms a close friendship with the other ship's boys. She puts up with the trials of being a ship's boy such as the beatings of an evil middshippman,and the sexual harrassment of another evil shipmate.This is along with the many obsticals she faces to conseal her true identity which include her changing body and her feminity which even (gasp) makes her shipmates suspect her of being queer. But there are many wonederful things about her new life such as Jaimy, the ship's boy she falls in love with, and the thrill of chasing down and fighting pirates. I can't even describe how wonderfull this book really is.i thought at first it would be just another pirate book but i was woderfully wrong.I would recomend it to anyone who loves a good action packed book with a side of heart racing romance. it made me laugh out loud and cry, and any book that can do that is well worth the time.READ IT! It wont let you down.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for young people aged 10-14
Review: My son, who is 11, loved this book! He read it in just three days-it is quite a page-turner. I then read it, in two nights, based on his recommendation. I loved it! I will be giving this book to all my nieces and nephews this Christmas, because it handles the issue of growing up, independence, and having adventures in a very exciting and kid-friendly way, without talking down to the reader.
There is a little violence (them being on a ship that chases and engages with pirates) and a little hint of sex (Jacky gets almost molested, plus has a crush on one of the ships boys) but it is all handled with a very light hand. THe danger comes through, but none of it is graphic. I would highly recommend this book to any boy or girl who loves to read interesting tales of adventure.

Rating:
Summary: Bloody Jack
Review: This book is a very, very good book. It is about this girl named Mary and the girl wanted to be sailor. She wanted to be a sailor. People on a ship came and took her family away because they where very sick and they had to be moved away from people and they had to go get treatment. They had to go get treatment because they where very, very sick. She wants to find love and her loving family to see if they are alive. She changes her self-Just so she could live her life the way she wanted. She changed her self into a boy so she could make it as a sailor. But in the end love always wins!!!!! I would recommend this book because it was an adventurous good book that I would read again if I could.

Rating:
Summary: This is one fast read
Review: This is an absolutely terrific book. It's a fast-paced adventure story, with some humor and (interesting) history thrown in for good measure. Wish I had been "forced" to read it in high school, instead of the other drivel that I was assigned. I'd have read a lot more.

Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: What a great book! I could not put it down... Its one of the most exciting books I have ever read. Bloody Jack starts strong and doesn't let up 'til the end. Meyer does a brilliant job at capturing the feel of life on the sea. The characters are memorable, and the story flows smoothly. I haven't read a book this good in a long, long, time.

Rating:
Summary: A mini-epic with a big heart
Review: With all the elements of a good swashbuckling tale - and more - this is a book about coming of age and finding a niche, however unconventional, in the world. Mary "Jacky" Faber is a frightened, hungry little girl on the streets of London, and in desperation signs onto the HMS Dolphin as a ship's boy, where she knows she will at least be fed. She disguises herself as a boy to accomplish this, which has been done quite often in this genre - but the twist is this: she LOOKS like a little boy, and until she hits puberty the deception is quite simple. However, her hormones take over and she must try increasingly harder to keep her gender a secret, or be thrown to the streets again forever. Jacky grows up aboard the ship, learning to work, to stand up for herself, and accidentally falling in love with another ship's boy. The plot is predictable, but all is forgiven: Jacky's narrative is frank, funny, and undeniably wise, and she will entertain you to the very last page.