Name: Bloody Jack
Rating: 4.189655172413793 (29 reviews)
ISBN: 9780152050856

Louis A. Meyer

Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy (Bloody Jack #1)

Bloody Jack

Sarah Sammis

Bloody Jack by LA Meyer is the first of the Mary "Jack" Faber books. Mary, having been orphaned when her parents and sister die during an epidemic, is forced out on the streets. There she learns boys are being hired as ships boys on the burgeoning British fleet. She decides to don men's clothes and join up if they'll have her.

Jack takes a while to settle into a convincing voice. The opening chapters, especially, while still in London, have dialog akin to the Mary Poppins movie version of cockney.

For the most part, the book settles into a blow by blow of Jack learning her place on the HMS Dolphin. There are fascinating details of how she has to disguise herself to look more boyish and the problems she faces especially when having to take care of her day to day needs. Later on she's further confused by her first period.

Bloody Jack is an okay start to a series (but it could have been better). It was good enough to warrant putting the second book, Curse of the Blue Tattoo, on my wishlist. But I wasn't blown away by it as some reviewers were.

Reduced to begging and thievery in the streets of London, a thirteen-year-old orphan disguises herself as a boy and connives her way onto a British warship set for high sea adventure in search of pirates.

Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy

Kirsten Simkiss

I really loved this book. This was my second read-through after a few years and it was definitely still a great read.

I love how the language transforms over the course of the book. As Jacky's understanding of English improves, so does the way that the story is written. It's a very clever way to show growth.

The story is fun, the characters are interesting and vary in personalities as they should, and the conflict is believable - with perhaps an exception when it comes to the kite thing. If you haven't read it, you'll see. If you have read it, you already know what I'm talking about. Definitely a great start to a fun series.

Bloody Jack Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy (Bloody Jack #1)

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