Pirates!

"I was of a roving frame of mind, even as a child, and for years my fancy had been to set sail on one of my father's ships. One grey summer morning, in 1722, my wish was granted, but not quite in the way that I would have wanted."
So begins Pirates by Cecilia Rees. Though sixteen-year-old Nancy Kington is dressed up like a doll and drilled in the ladylike arts, her heart cries out for more adventure than an eligible match. When misfortune devastates the family fortune, Nancy’s brothers attempt to use her as a bargaining chip. But, Nancy is no fool. She taught herself how to read and write, and she is determined to teach herself how to survive independently—even if it means turning to a life of Piracy!
This historical novel opens in show more 1722 coastal England. Nancy is horrified to discover that her family fortune is derived not just from a sugar plantation in Jamaica, but from slave trade. Consequently, freedom is explored through the perspective of multiple characters. Nancy and her fearless friend Minerva, are not content to live lives of luxury built on the broken backs of others. They risk everything to escape and make for the high seas. Beautifully worded descriptions and spicy dialogue practically allow readers to taste the salty tang in the air. Nancy and Minerva find adventure sailing from confederacy ports, to tropical climes, and through harrowing storms in the company of daring and dangerous characters. In pursuit of plunder, they quickly learn that the greatest treasures—love and friendship-- come from the heart. show less

Audiobook.

I enjoyed this quite a lot -- there were sections so gripping I had to sit in the car to finish the scene. I particularly loved the depiction of the strong and lasting friendship between Nancy and Minerva.

It was interesting to see how the author handled the embrace of a piratical life by the various characters. I would have liked to see both Nancy and Minerva question the morality of their actions a bit more. I could certainly sympathize with both of them (especially Minerva, a former slave) feeling that the piratical life was the only one that could afford them freedom, but I did feel as if some of the ethical questions were glossed over more than I would have liked.

But overall it was an entertaining and very atmospheric show more tale of high adventure that I quite enjoyed listening to! show less

It's not perfect, but two girls defying society's prescribed roles for them in epic ways and building an unshakeable bond is satisfying.

This book is about as girl-power as it gets. Nancy Kington's father has made his fortune by growing sugar cane and shipping it all over for trade. She never thought much about it (although she objects to the way her brothers treat the slaves in her family's employment) until a devastating storm destroys most of her family's fleet and her father dies soon afterward. She finds herself on a boat bound for the island where the sugar cane is grown, and she eventually learns that her father and brothers have pledged her in marriage to an evil Brazilian with a neighboring plantation. To escape her unpleasant fate, she takes her slave Minerva and runs off with pirates, all the while hoping that her true love, the hopelessly middle-class show more William, will still love her as a pirate. To its credit, the story doesn't linger on the star-crossed lovers bit. Instead, it detail just how bada** Nancy and Minerva become. show less

This was simply a light, fun read. The story and sea travel is historically accurate enough, but bends the truth when it would get in the way of the adventure. I liked both protagonists and loved that Rees did not fall back on the black-sidekick trope. Rees also gave me the feeling that nearly all her side character had their own lives and adventures. I love complex stories like 'A Song of Ice and Fire', but after about five hundred Lord Whatnot from Whoknowswhere with light brown hair, slightly crooked nose and a scar behind the right earlobe it is nice to have clear cut, distinguishable side characters.
If you are looking for a book to read for a day at the beach, take this one.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-9-This swashbuckling adventure features all of the elements of a grand pirate tale: sword fights, duels, charming rogues, true love, murder, and the odd severed head. Narrator Nancy Kington joins a pirate crew to escape an arranged marriage to a deliciously evil Brazilian, a former pirate himself. She takes along Minerva, a slave who not too surprisingly turns out to be her half sister. The pirates, in one of many happy coincidences, are captained by Mr. Broom, who had already befriended Nancy on an earlier voyage. Quickly adapting to the life, the two young women survive storms, capture, mutiny, and more. This crew manages to steal with little or no bloodshed, except when the victims are clearly show more villainous themselves. Nancy comes to relish the excitement of sea life, but still hopes to reunite with the young man she loves, who serves with the British Navy. The narration is well paced and engrossing, giving readers a strong feel for the times without bogging down in details. Nancy describes the practice of slavery and the rights of women perceptively, but fairly convincingly for a 1725 character of her background and experience. The first 100 pages are less exciting than the rest of the book, but they set the stage nicely for the involving exploits that follow. The inevitable showdown with the Brazilian provides a satisfying page-turner of a climax. While a few of the supporting characters seem a bit wooden, and some plot twists stretch credulity, this is a rip-roaring adventure with an engaging female heroine.
Steven Engelfried, Beaverton City Library, OR show less

I picked up this book because I had be seeing it on shelves for ages and was curious. It ended up being a pretty darn good book.

This book tells the story of a young girl, Nancy, who is the daughter to a sugar plantation owner. When Nancy's father dies. Nancy is spirited away by her brothers to live on their sugar plantation in Jamaica. Upon her arrival she finds that she has been promised to a horrible man for marriage. Certain circumstances come about and Nancy ends up fleeing for her life and signing up to be serve as a pirate on a pirate ship. The majority of the book is spent on her adventures.

This was a very good book. The writing style is very straight forward, the whole book is from Nancy's perspective. The plot moves slowly at show more the beginning with the the first third of the book telling about how Nancy and Minerva got onto the pirate ship. The pace picks up from there and hurtles from adventure to adventure. It was a thoroughly enjoyable read.

I have one small complaint about the book and that was that it dealt with pirates from a very romantic point of view; the violence of a pirate's lifestyle is somewhat muted. I think young girls would have been hard pressed to serve as women on a pirate ship in reality. Of course, this isn't reality, it's just a very good story that definitely sways toward fantasy. It reminded me a lot of the Pirates of the Caribbean movie. It is a very solid young adult novel.

I liked the book and will be checking out more books by this author. show less