Oh my goodness. What to say about this book? Although the story is definitely intended- and well written for- young adults, even adults will love this story. It's silly, it's fun, it's funny, and it's all about girls who aren't afraid to break the rules.

What a wonderful story! ( )

Review originally posted at The Children's Book and Media Review

Hillary Westfield is the daughter of the Admiral of the Royal Navy, but that doesn’t stop her from dreaming of being a pirate. When she writes to the Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates (VNHLP), they turn her down because she is a girl and then forward her information to Miss Pimm's Finishing School for Delicate Ladies. She and her friend, the gargoyle, run away from finishing school to sail the high seas. She joins Jasper Fletcher (“Terror of the Southlands”), Jasper’s ward Charlie, a boy named Oliver who she suspects is up to no good, and (to her dismay) her former governess, Miss Greyson, in a quest to find the largest treasure trove of magic in the kingdom.

Carlson’s writing is clever, witty, and sometimes hilarious. The gem of the book is the dynamic characters with unique voices. The pirates are based on fictional pirates, so the emphasis is on finding treasure rather than the activities of historical pirates. There are some pirate battles and talking about running people through, but the book has little violence. Sailors who lose sword duels simply jump into the ocean and swim back to their ship. The interaction between pirate and high society girls adds humor and uniqueness to this fun book. With plenty of scoundrels and adventure to enjoy, a reader will likely wish to join the Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates themselves. ( )

A real swashbuckling adventure, with an unlikely heroine. great fun and full of action. ( )

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I did not like this book. Too complicated, hard to follow, and boring at times. ( )

While I didn't necessarily want to hug this book when I finished, it had some really delightful things about it. I had the opportunity to listen in a couple of nights this weekend to my daughter reading aloud to her children from the book The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom , and it was so fun to hear it read out loud with different voices for the different characters. I'm going to suggest this book to her for her next read-aloud with her kids. It would also make a great classroom read-aloud. I imagine the audio version of this book is pretty fun as well, so get it for your next road trip.

Things I Liked :
*The beginning of the book was adorable with the letters to and from Hillary (our main character) and the Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates. You knew from the first line of the book that this was going to be a fun (and swashbuckling!) read.
*The Gargoyle! I loved everything about him and couldn't wait for his next appearance.
*The lighthearted tone of the whole book. Even the big fight on board was hysterical. The worst injury was someone being clocked on the head with a can of beets, everyone else just jumped overboard when they decided to give up on the fight. (This is explained later.)
*I really loved so many of the characters. Miss Greyson, the governess was a delight from the very beginning. She kept her composure and finishing school etiquette even while living on a pirate ship. Jasper, the Terror of the Southlands, was entertaining and endearing (for a pirate :) ). Charlie, Claire, Miss Pimm, all of the different pirates - there were so many engaging characters.

Things I Didn't Like :
*Every chapter ended with either letters, parts of textbooks, forms filled out, newspaper articles... While some of these were hilarious, some just brought the flow of the book to a complete halt. I'm also concerned that some of the fonts for the letters/correspondence are in cursive, and middle school students (regrettably) can't read cursive anymore. Adults will find these chapter endings charming, but I am betting that most middle school students will just skip right over them.
*Hillary comes from a horrible family and her father is quite evil.

Areas of concern:
*The pirates lust for vengeance, treasure, and overall bloodthirstiness is glorified.
*Some bullying behavior at finishing school.
*Pirates drinking grog around children.
*Rather silly violence.
(As you can tell, there really aren't too many things to be concerned about in this one.)

http://read-me-maybe.blogspot.com ( )