Under the Jolly Roger

Under the Jolly Roger: Being an Account of the Further Nautical Adventures of Jacky Faber (Bloody Jack Adventures) by L.A. Meyer

When I was a kid I adored Pippi Longstocking. I think of her often the more I read this series. I can't help but feel that Mary "Jacky" Faber is the answer for girls / women who have outgrown the idea of a Pippi or for those who feel they could have liked her if only she had been slightly more realistic. For those longing for a girl who has the same kinda of adventures but in a much crueler world. Like Pippi, Jacky should be required reading for girls so long as we still live in a world where people so much as smirk at the idea of a woman doing a “man’s job". The difference here is that Jacky is much rougher reading - once again she's faced with a man who would force himself upon her as several others do nothing to stop it, even knowing the exact time this event is to occur. As I said, a much crueler world and therefore not meant for younger or sensitive readers. There is not especially foul language, so on that end it is acceptable for all ages, but some of the descriptions can be rather brutal when it comes to things that Jacky faces -- and yes some of those are men trying to overpower her in sexual ways.

As we have come to expect there is of course plenty of trouble, there's wars to fight, drunks to deal with, boy troubles, being called horrific names (sometimes for simply being in a place where a man could find you to do the aforementioned things), street gangs -- but Jacky takes on all of these things head on with a style all her own. She takes on any man, no matter how high his status in life or how low hers. When Jaimy seems to have forgotten her, she holds her head high no matter how much it is breaking her heart. She lands herself back on the high seas, and while it was not quite by choice, once there she makes the best her situation, landing herself in a position that no one thought possible -- a position that some people will do anything to ruin for her while others will do anything to protect for her. Reunited with old friends and enemies both, there’s quite a lot of adventure in this book which will not disappoint Bloody Jack fans.

I won’t go so far as to say that this book is perfect, it’s not. There are some weaknesses in this book, but none so great they take away even 1 star. It does begin to feel like you've seen Jacky in this scene or that one before. You do find yourself wondering 'why is she dealing with that person that way that way? She should be doing this or that!!! She's Jacky Faber for goodness sake.' Still, when it starts to feel reptitive or a little off, it then makes a right turn and reminds you again of why you love this little sea vixen.

It should be said that this is a rare book - enjoyable in any format but preferable in audio format. Generally I'd say buy your preferred format - hardcover, paperback, kindle, whatever... In the case of Jacky Faber, however, you'll be missing an experience if you don't hear the audio format.

Curse of the Blue Tattoo

Curse of the Blue Tattoo (Bloody Jack Adventures) by L.A. Meyer

Jacky is back. Kicked off the ship for having been born a girl she's now stuck at a school for girls. They've been given the monumental task of turning Jacky into a lady. An extra difficult task given that Jacky would rather be down at the bar playing her songs, saving up her tips to buy a ship -- or at least a ticket that will get her to London. But then Jacky makes some friends, some enemies, has a mystery to solve involving a dead girl and really creepy minister who wants to take custody of her next, oh and she isn't hearing from Jaimy -- so maybe she'll stick around and try to become a lady after all or at least pretend to take an interest in her classes enough so that she isn't kicked out. Just as good as the first despite not taking place aboard the ship. I do feel like I should give a warning that I forgot to give in my review of the first book - being a YA book, it should be noted that there are quite a lot of abuses against girls in these books. Granted most of these are against Jacky and she is either strong enough or lucky enough to get out of the worst of these situations before they turn truly bad, but the worst of these are sexual in nature. In this second book there were several of these close calls. YA books are read by pretty much every age range from as soon as kids feel they'll be able to understand the words through old age. For many readers some of these scenes could be quite sensitive, especially younger readers or people who have these sorts of scenes trigger very personal emotional memories / responses.

Bloody Jack

Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary 'Jacky' Faber, Ship's Boy (Bloody Jack Adventures) by L.A. Meyer
I listened to this mainly because it was a new audiobook available at the library, no wait, and sounded interesting enough. Very glad I went for it for two reasons: 1. Jacky is just flat out awesome. Though she's street wise enough, she's young and not quite as wise to the ways of the world as she thinks. She does use her smarts to land herself a job as a ship boy. She's a fighter and brave. She's also just a girl and not so brave. I love the mix. She knows when she's in over her head - not that she doesn't dive a little deeper as, well, she kind of has to. 2. Had I stumbled upon this to buy, it would have been Kindle, not audio. Audio is thee way to go with this book. Generally when I check out an audiobook I feel as though the person reading it does okay, but could be anyone, replace them and it wouldn't matter. That is not the case with this audiobook, no one else could have read it. It was too perfect. I started book two downloading while I was in the middle of book one, I loved it that much.