Bloody Jack
By L.A. Meyer
Meyer, L.A. 2002. BLOODY JACK. San Diego : Harcourt. ISBN 9780152167318
Plot Summary
Bloody Jack is the notorious young ship’s boy who gained a quick reputation for trouble and courage. Through surviving as an orphan on the streets then joining with a ship of the Royal Navy hunting pirates, Jacky experiences friendships, adventure, battle, abuse, and survival, puberty and even romance. Though not a surprise to the reader, the biggest shocker regarding Bloody Jack is that “he” is really Mary Faber, a young teenage girl.
Critical Analysis
Adventures and hardships of the high seas are lot of Jacky, a somewhat edgy and tough girl who is a survivor. Though her experiences are borderline in believability, her character rings true. Her worries and spirit are easy to identify with, especially for tween/teen girls. Some background knowledge is helpful to the reader, but this detailed story is manageable for the reader, including making ship terms accessible. This is important as the ship is the primary setting and integral to the story.
The themes of survival, growing up, relationships, and courage are all central to the story and very relevant to today’s readers. The story is told in first person with dialect, which changes as Jacky progresses from street urchin to midshipman. This intriguing adventurous story has a bit of everything, all in a historical setting which is more fiction and less fact. Though, the authenticity shines through with the life on the ship, the author having researched and actually been a naval officer.
Awards, Honors, Best Book Lists
Lupine Award, 2002 Honor Book Maine Odyssey Award, 2008 Honor United States
Amelia Bloomer List, 2003 ; ALA Social Responsiblities Round Table (SRRT); United StatesBest Children's Books of the Year, 2003 ; Bank Street College of Education; United StatesBooklist Book Review Stars, Nov. 15, 2002 ; United StatesBooklist Editors' Choice: Books for Youth, 2002 ; American Library Association; United StatesBooklist Top 10 Historical Fiction for Youth, 2003 ; American Library Association; United StatesBulletin Blue Ribbons, 2002 ; Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books; United StatesCliffhangers, 2003 ; Bank Street College of Education; United StatesMiddle and Junior High School Library Catalog, Ninth Edition, 2005 ; H.W. Wilson; United StatesMiddle and Junior High School Library Catalog, Supplement to the Eighth Edition, 2003 ; H.W. Wilson; United StatesPublishers Weekly Book Review Stars, October 7, 2002 ; Cahners; United StatesSenior High Core Collection, Seventeenth Edition, 2007 ; The H. W. Wilson Co.; United StatesSenior High School Library Catalog, Sixteenth Edition, 2003 Supplement, 2003 ; H.W. Wilson; United StatesTop 10 Youth First Novels, 2003 ; American Library Association; United StatesYALSA Best Books for Young Adults, 2004 ; American Library Association; United States
Review Excerpts
Kirkus (Kirkus Reviews, August 1, 2002 (Vol. 70, No. 15))
“Posing as a lad in the late 1790s, a spunky orphan girl secures a job as a ship's boy in the British Navy, a position that becomes compromised by her evolving maturity and love for a fellow crewmember. Meyer, a debut novelist, has penned a rousing old-time girl's adventure story, with an outsized heroine who is equal parts gutsy and vulnerable, then sets her loose on a pirate-hunting vessel in the high seas. … Capped by a fitting but bittersweet ending, the first-person narrative shines, and a wealth of historical research is seamlessly knitted into the material. A first-rate read.”
“Posing as a lad in the late 1790s, a spunky orphan girl secures a job as a ship's boy in the British Navy, a position that becomes compromised by her evolving maturity and love for a fellow crewmember. Meyer, a debut novelist, has penned a rousing old-time girl's adventure story, with an outsized heroine who is equal parts gutsy and vulnerable, then sets her loose on a pirate-hunting vessel in the high seas. … Capped by a fitting but bittersweet ending, the first-person narrative shines, and a wealth of historical research is seamlessly knitted into the material. A first-rate read.”
Leah Hanson (Children's Literature)
“This is a properly thrilling adventure with pirates, shipwrecks, and even a little romance, able to pull in both boys and girls. Although Jacky is actually a girl, at times the reader completely forgets the charade. Transported into a time of pirates and plagues, readers will gain a better understanding of the late eighteenth century.”
“This is a properly thrilling adventure with pirates, shipwrecks, and even a little romance, able to pull in both boys and girls. Although Jacky is actually a girl, at times the reader completely forgets the charade. Transported into a time of pirates and plagues, readers will gain a better understanding of the late eighteenth century.”
Connections
The Cay 1970 Theodore Taylor. Avon Books, [New York] : U.S.A
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle 2003 Avi. Orchard Books, New York : U.S.A
