Piratica : being a daring tale of a singular girl’s adventure upon the high seas

Title: Piratica : being a daring tale of a singular girls adventure upon the high seas
Author: Tanith Lee
Publisher: Hodder Children's Books
Year of Publication: 2004

About the book:
16-year-old Artemesia Fitz-Willoughby (or Art, for short) has spent the last 6 years of her life stuck in the Angels Academy for Young Maidens. She remembers nothing of her previous life before Angels Academy until she takes a tumble down some stairs...
After hitting her head on a bannister, her mind begins to fill with the memory of her previous life, one full of pirates and swordfights and cannons, and her mother, a famous pirate, and Art escapes the school in search for adventure!
When it's revealed that the life she remembers was merely a stage play, that her mother and her crew were an acting troupe, Art remains undaunted and convinces them to join her and become real pirates!
While some of the plot elements can be a little far-fetched, Piratica is a fun read. Filled with derring-do and swashbuckling adventure, and a strong-minded female at the helm, this book is great for those who like an adventure that doesn't take itself too seriously. Piratica: being a daring tale of a singular girls adventure upon the high seas is the first of the Piratica series, which spans three books.

Bloody Jack : being an account of the curious adventures of Mary “Jacky” Faber, ship’s boy

 

Title: Bloody Jack : being an account of the curious adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber
Author : L. A. Meyer
Publisher: Harcourt
Year of Publication: 2002
Series: Bloody Jack

About the book:
Mary Faber is an orphan living in the streets of London in the early 1900s. When the leader of her gang is killed, she puts on his clothes, names herself Jack and sneaks aboard the HMS Dolphin. 
The novel follows Mary’s adventures on the HMS Dolphin, exploring her struggle to maintain her Jacky persona and her clashes with the pirates on board (which earns her the name ‘Bloody Jack’). 

The novel is praised as being an engaging novel with a lot of historical and nautical detail of piracy in the 18th century. This novel is the first of the Bloody Jack series, which has so far spanned nine books (the ninth to be published in October 2011).

City of Ships

Title: City of Ships
Author: Mary Hoffman
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Year of Publication: 2010
Series: Stravanganza

About the Book:
While this novel is part of the Stravanganza series, it is can also be read as a stand alone.
The general premise of the series is teens from modern day England find items or 'talismans' that send them back in time to Talia (a place like 16th century Italy but isn't) where only they can do a certain task or quest to help Talia.

Isabel is the younger twin and has spent her whole life in her twin Charlie's shadow. When her talisman transports her to the Talian town of Classe, a city about to be invaded by the Gate People. Isabel befriends a female merchant Flavia, whose son Andrea is an outcast and a pirate. As the city prepares for war, Isabel must help save the city before it falls into ruin.

This book is perfect for those who like a little fantasy with their historical fiction, with pirates thrown into the mix! Don't let the fact that this is part of a series deter you from reading it, it might even convince you to explore the rest of the Stravaganza series.

Isabel is a very likable character, with the potential to come off as whiny as she plays second fiddle to her brother, it's refreshing to have her perspective not being that of the stereotypical jealous sibling. She does come into her own throughout the book and grows to become a stronger character towards the end.

Hoffman's worldbuilding has been praised throughout her previous books, and this book is no exception. This book is richly detailed with Hoffman's masterfully written plot intricately woven thoughout. Her characters are engaging and likable, and her story is filled with adventure, suspense and unexpected twists and turns that will leave you wanting to explore the rest of the Stravanganza series (even if the rest of the books don't include pirates).

Peter and the Starcatchers

Title: Peter and the Starcatchers
Authors: Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Publisher: Disney Editions
Year of Publication: 2006
Series: Peter and the Starcatchers

About the Book:
If you ever wondered how Peter Pan ended up in Neverland, how Hook lost his hand, how Tink came into being (laughing baby, not withstanding), then be prepared to find a comfy chair and dive into Peter and the Starcatchers.
A softer and lighter prequel (at least, compared to Capt. Hook: adventures of a notorious youth) to Peter Pan, orphan Peter and his band of boys are taken aboard the ship Never Land to be sent off as servants for an evil king. The Never Land is also holding mysterious cargo, a strange trunk whose magical contents is only known to Molly, one of the passengers aboard the ship. In pursuit of the cargo is the pirate Black Stache, whose character is strangely familiar. Filled with magic, sea battles and shipwrecks, Dave Barry explores the origin story of Peter and his Lost Boys, and how they got to Neverland.

A fast-paced, fun, if sometimes slightly absurd (Molly speaks Porpoise...really.) pirate adventure, this story is a great re-imagining of the Peter Pan mythos while still paying respect to the original. Barry's writing is humourous and witty, with plenty of small shoutouts and references to the original Barrie story, and his characters well fleshed out. Peter is very much in character of the original, if a bit more likable. New character and female lead Molly Aster is despite being the token female, brave, intelligent and a bit stubborn, and gets her own share of the action. She can also speak Porpoise.

The magic elements of the plot can be a bit of a stretch (one word, Porpoise), but overall it is a very fun book which has an engaging narrative that makes it very hard to put down. A popular novel, it is also the first of the Peter and the Starcatchers series, which so far spans four books.