Curse of the Blue Tattoo

Curse of the Blue Tattoo
 by L. A. Meyer

Bibliography

Meyer, L. A. (2004). Curse of the blue tattoo. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Books. ISBN 9781415545881

Summary

Discovered!  Jack is really Jacky and so must leave the ship she loves and become a fine lady.  This doesn't work out and the adventures really begin for Jacky Faber.  Experience penny-whistle playing, colonial boarding school drama, a nefarious preacher, and lots of excitement in this Bloody Jack adventure.

Critical Analysis

Who doesn't love a good historical yarn, especially one as well written as this one?  Meyer deftly creates well-rounded characters both heroine, minor characters, and villains.  Of course Jacky has her flaws, don't we all, but you can't help but root for her with her resourceful ways and cleverness.  Set in colonial days in America, Curse of the Blue Tattoo, takes the reader back in time and allows us to glimpse the past, but not at the expense of the strongly plotted story.  Everything feels of-a-piece - the setting, the characters, and the plot - and blends into a fantastic adventure tale with a little mystery mixed in.  Really enjoyable to read and will keep teen readers up late to find out what happens next.

Review Excerpts

*Utterly engaging and incredibly well-paced, Curse of the Blue Tattoo is the very best kind of historical fiction: the kind that won’t leave teens snoring. Meyer effortlessly maintains Jacky’s sassy voice and conflicted conscience in what is shaping up to be a great series. While many readers will groan with despair as Jacky sets off yet again at the end of the book, they will also sigh with relief that they will most likely be meeting her again! --Jennifer Hubert

* Meyer does an excellent job of conveying life in Boston in 1803, particularly the rights, or lack thereof, of women. Jacky's headstrong certainty that she's in control and her cocky first-person account make her a memorable heroine. The narrative is full of lecherous men, and Jacky herself is free in her ways. This fact and the sometimes-strong language make this book more appropriate for older readers. Sure to please fans of the first title, this adventure-packed historical novel also stands on its own. --School Library Journal


Connections

* Expert from Curse of the Bloody Tattoo

It was a hard comin' I had of it, that's for sure. It was hard enough comin' up from the brig, the cell down below where they had me kept these past few weeks, squintin' into the light to see all of the dear Dolphin's sailors lined up along the spars of the great masts and in other parts of the riggin', all four hundred of 'em, bless 'em, my mates for the past year and a half, all cheerin' and hallooin' and wavin' me off. 

It was hard, too, walkin' across to the quarterdeck, where the officers were all pulled up in their fancy uniforms and where the midshipmen and side boys made two rows for me to walk between on my way off the ship, and there's Jaimy all straight and all beautiful in his new midshipman's uniform, and there's Davy and Tink and Willy, the boys of the Brotherhood to which I so lately belonged, and there's my dear sea-dad Liam lookin' as proud as any father. The Bo'sun's Mate puts his pipe to his lips and starts the warble to pipe me off the Dolphin, my sweet and only home, and I start down between their ranks, but I stop in front of Jaimy and I look at the Captain and I pleads with my teary eyes. The Captain smiles and nods and I fling my arms around Jaimy's neck and kiss him one last time, oh yes I do, and the men cheer all the louder for it, but it was short, oh so short, for too soon my arm is taken and I have to let go of Jaimy, but before I do I feel him press something into my hand and I look down and see that it's a letter. 

Then I'm led away down the gangway, but I keep my eyes on Jaimy's eyes and my hand clutched around his letter as the Professor hands me up into the carriage that's waitin' at the foot of the gangway. I keeps my eyes on Jaimy as the horses are started and we clatter away, and I rutch around in my seat and stick my head out the window to keep my blurry eyes on him but it's too far away now for me to see his eyes, just him standin' there at the rail lookin' after me, and then the coach goes around a corner and that's all. He's there, and then he's not.That was the hardest of all. I put my fingertips to my lips where his have just been and I wonder when they will again touch me in that place. If ever...Oh, Jaimy, I worry about you so much 'cause the war's on again with Napolon and all it takes is one angry cannonball, and oh, God, please.

I leave off what has up to now been fairly gentle weeping and turn to full scale, chest heavin', eyes squeezed shut, open mouth bawlin'."Well," says Professor Tilden, sittin' across from me, "you certainly have made a spectacle of yourself today, I must say."

...don't care don't care don't care don't care...

"You should compose yourself now, Miss. The school is not a far ride from the harbor. Here," he says, handing me a handkerchief, "dry your eyes."The Professor is taking me to the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls, which is where they decided to dump me after that day on the beach when my grand Deception was blown out of the water for good and ever...


* Lots of fun on this Bloody Jack website, even some out-takes!

* Of course you want to read the whole series.

Bloody Jack Adventures
1. Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary 'Jacky' Faber, Ship's Boy (2002)
2. Curse of the Blue Tatoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman And Fine Lady (2004)
3. Under the Jolly Roger: Being an Account of the Further Nautical Adventures of Jacky Faber (2005)
4. In the Belly of the Bloodhound: Being an Account of a Particularly Peculiar Adventure in the Life of Jacky Faber (2006)
5. Mississippi Jack: Being an Account of the Further Waterborne Adventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman, Fine Lady, And Lily of the West (2007)
6. My Bonny Light Horseman (2008)
7. Rapture of the Deep (2009)
8. The Wake of the Lorelei Lee (2010)

Harris and Me

Harris and Me
 by Gary Paulsen

Bibliography

Paulsen, G. (1993). Harris and me. Orlando, FL: Harcourt Books. ISBN 9780152058807

Summary

Harris and Me is the hilarious remembrance of one boy's summer spent with Harris and his family because his parents are unfit to care for him.  The boys spend the summer playing and working outdoors, getting into mischief, and loving life.  Two of the crazy things the boys try are playing war with pigs and putting a motor on a bicycle, but no one can tell these adventures like Gary Paulsen!

Critical Analysis

Oh, I wish I knew these boys from the early 1900's!  Gary Paulsen creates a whole believable family, but the boys are perfectly crafted into real people.  Maybe that's because this book is partially autobiographical, but Paulsen brings such a fullness with his writing that I bet the story is better than the memories.  Paulsen makes a harsh reality, drunken parents, palatable for his young hero and readers.  Most will long for days when such a summer, spent on farm full of love, work, and craziness, was possible.  Rich characterization, the perfect setting, and fantastically funny writing come together in Harris and Me to make a modern classic in young adult literature

Review Excerpts

* Readers will experience hearts as large as farmers' appetites, humor as broad as the county landscape and adventures as wild as boyhood imaginagtions... A hearty helping of old-fashioned, rip-roaring entertainment.  -- Publishers Weekly

* Includes laugh-out-loud passages as well as heaps of nostalgia. --The Horn Book


Connections

* Video interview with Gary Paulsen - worth a watch, certainly - and other Paulsen stuff!

* Here is an excellent author interview with Paulsen from the New York Public Library.

* Comment from Harrison, age 13:  "I like it because it has an old-fashioned air and plenty of humor."

* Expert from Harris and Me

    All this time Harris had been standing, watching, his hands behind him.  I hadn't really looked at him, but when I moved to take the box from Glennis the grown-ups fell in together and started walking toward the house and Harris came up alongside me just as I grabbed the box.
     Physically he was of a set piece with Glennis.  Blond - hair bleached white by  sun -  face perpetually sunburned and red with a peeling nose, freckles sprinkled like brown pepper over everything, and even, white teeth, except that when Harris smiled there were two gone from the front.  He was wearing a set of patched bib overalls.  No shirt, no shoes - just freckles and the bibs, which were so large he seemed to move inside them.
    "Hi."
    He walked beside me, his hands still to his rear.  I would subsequently find that this posture could be dangerous, meant he was hiding something, but I didn't know this soon so I nodded.  "Hi."
     "We heard your folks was puke drunks, is that right?"
     "Harris!"  Glennis was was walking on the other side of me and her voiced snapped.  "That's not polite, to talk that way."
     "Well you can just blow it out your butt, you old cow...."

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You
by Ally Carter

Bibliography

Carter, A. (2006). I'd tell you I love you, but then I'd have to kill you. New York, NY: Hperion Books for Children. ISBN 1423100034

Summary

Gallagher Academy is not a typical girls' boarding school; and Cammie is not a typical girl!  I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You is written as Cammie's first Covert Operations Report and details her adventures of spying and flirting during her sophomore year at Gallagher, a school for genius future spies.

Critical Analysis

Ally Carter makes a good effort with I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You and there are lots of good things about it.  The idea behind the plot of the story feels fresh and original.  The characters are likable and very well crafted - not too perfect and accurately complex. Several themes of the story - love may be worth it, be true to yourself, smart girls are great, bad things happen to good people - come through loud and clear, but without leaving the reader feeling like they sat through a lecture.  The setting is fun.  An all-girl spy school with secret passages, cute teachers, great friends is a combination that just sings of adventurous things to come.  All of these are good things.

Unfortunately, Carter's style in this books leaves something to be desired. The constant attempts and speaking in the teen voice left me disappointed and tired.  Her repetitive reminders of the spy nature of the book seemed to take the place of any real adventure, other than sneaking out of school and into a boy's home. Overall, I say the book is worth reading, because Carter seems to find her voice later in the series, and I like to start at the beginning!



Review Excerpts

* Despite any shortcomings, aficionados of this burgeoning fiction genre will be tempted to give this title a go. -- Publisher's Weekly

* The teen's double life leads to some amusing one-liners, and the invented history of the Gallagher Girls is also entertaining, but the story is short on suspense. The stakes never seem very high since there are no real villains, and the cutesy dialogue quickly becomes grating. --School Library Journal

Connections

* There are many Gallagher Girls books to enjoy!  Look for Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy, Don't Judge a Girl by her Cover, and Only the Good Spy Young

* Here is the official Ally Carter website where you can buy a T-shirt, read Ally's blog, and get all the news!

* Excerpt from I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You.

17:55 hours (that's 5:35 P.M.): The Operative moved into position.
18:00 hours:  The Operative was wishing she'd brought something to eat because she couldn't leave her post to go buy a candy bar, much less use the bathroom.
18:30 hours:  The Operative realized it's almost impossible to look pretty and/or seductive if you SERIOUSLY have to go pee.


     Back in my room, I had fifty pages of The Art of War left to translate into Arabic, a credit-card-slash-fingerprint modifier to perfect for Dr. Fibs, and Madame Dabney had been dropping big pop-quiz hints at the end of C&A.  Yet there I was, rubbing my swelling ankle and thinking that I really should be getting CoveOps extra credit for this.
     I looked at my watch again: seven forty-five.  Okay, I though, I'll give him until eight and then...
     "Hi," I heard from behind me...
     I could have said hi back in fourteen different languages (and that's not including pig Latin). And yet  I was speechless as he came to stand in front of me.

Speak

Speak
 by Laurie Halse Anderson

Bibliography

Anderson, L. H. (1999). Speak. New York, NY: Farrar, Straus, Giroux. ISBN 0374371520

Summary

Melinda Sordino was raped over the summer, but no one knows that is why she called the police to a wild party.  All they know is that she got a lot of people in trouble and she no longer has any friends.  Speak is the first person account of Melinda's struggle to find her voice after remaining silent about the rape.  She barely manages high school as she hopes that by not speaking, the pain will go away. She finds that speaking out is the only way to help herself and others.

Critical Analysis

The setting takes a back seat in this story, which is driven by rich characterization of Melinda Sordino and an engaging problem.   In Speak, which takes place primarily in Melinda's home and high school, Laurie Halse Anderson makes the point that internalizing traumatic experiences doesn't make them go away.  She does this without being preachy or exaggerating the problem.  In fact, many teenagers who have a guilty secret will be able to identify with Melinda, even if they have not experienced pain at the same level.  My only qualm with story is the coincidental timing of the volleyball team coming by when Melinda is trapped in "her" closet by Andy at the end of the book. Even with this quirk, the plot is well-built and authentic; the main and supporting characters are genuine and believable; and Anderson's writing suits the novel with seeming effortlessness.

Review Excerpts

* In a stunning first novel, Anderson uses keen observations and vivid imagery to pull readers into the head of an isolated teenager.  -- Publishers Weekly

* Anderson perfectly captures the harsh conformity of high-school cliques and one teen's struggle to find acceptance from her peers. --Booklist


Connections

* Speak has been made into a movie starring Kristen Stewart.

* Here Laurie Halse Anderson reads a poems she wrote in response to teen letters about Speak on it's 10th anniversary.

* Expert from Speak

      I am Outcast.
      There is no point looking for my ex-friends. Our clan, the Plain Janes, has splintered and the pieces are being absorbed by rival factions. Nicole lounges with the Jocks, comparing scars from summer league sports. Ivy floats between the Suffering Artists on one side of the aisle and the Thespians on the other. She has enough personality to travel with two packs. Jessica has moved to Nevada. No real loss. She was mostly Ivy's friend, anyway.
      The kids behind me laugh so loud I know they're laughing about me. I can't help myself. I turn around. It's Rachel, surrounded by a bunch of kids wearing clothes that most definitely did not come from the EastSide Mall. Rachel Bruin, my ex-best friend. She stares at something above my left ear. Words climb up my throat. This was the girl who suffered through Brownies with me, who taught me how to swim, who understood about my parents, who didn't make fun of my bedroom. If there is anyone in the entire galaxy I am dying to tell what really happened, it's Rachel. My throat burns.
      Her eyes meet mine for a second. "I hate you," she mouths silently. She turns her back to me and laughs with her friends. I bite my lip. I am not going to think about it. It was ugly, but it's over, and I'm not going to think about it. My lip bleeds a little. It tastes like metal. I need to sit down.
      I stand in the center aisle of the auditorium, a wounded zebra in a National Geographic special, looking for someone, anyone, to sit next to. A predator approaches: gray jock buzz cut, whistle around a neck thicker than his head. Probably a social studies teacher, hired to coach a blood sport.
Mr. Neck: "Sit."
      I grab a seat. Another wounded zebra turns and smiles at me. She's packing at least five grand worth of orthodontia, but has great shoes. "I'm Heather from Ohio," she says. "I'm new here. Are you?" I don't have time to answer. The lights dim and the indoctrination begins.


    THE FIRST TEN LIES THEY TELL YOU IN HIGH SCHOOL

1. We are here to help you.

2. You will have enough time to get to your class before] the bell rings.]

3. The dress code will be enforced.

4. No smoking is allowed on school grounds.

5. Our football team will win the championship this year.

6. We expect more of you here.

7. Guidance counselors are always available to listen.

8. Your schedule was created with your needs in mind.

9. Your locker combination is private.

10. These will be the years you look back on fondly.

Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging
by Louise Rennison

Bibliography

Rennison, L. (1999). Angus, thongs and full-frontal snogging. New York, NY: Harper Collins Children's Books. ISBN0060288140

Summary

Written as a diary from August 23 to July 17, Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging hilariously captures Georgia Nicolson's thoughts on her cat, boys, family, and friends.  A mirthful "glossary" at the end helps American readers with all the British-isms scattered through the book.  

Critical Analysis

What makes this book funny?  First, Georgia Nicolson is portrayed as such a typical, unintentionally witty, and sincere teenager that all the things girls laugh at about themselves and each other are just waiting to make you snicker.  Second, Louise Rennison's style and approach keep the tone light, even when the subjects turn serious, while moving the believable plot along at an attention-keeping pace.  She helps girls laugh at those miserable, embarrassing spots on their noses, the horrible feeling of bras riding up to necks, and the mysterious creatures called boys!
 
Set in England, the story rings true.  Watch any term time morning and you will see children going to school in uniforms similar to Georgia's, all tugging at this bit or that. Rennison leaves the reader wanting more Georgia, not only because she's funny and we want to know if she moves to New Zealand, but because it is inspiring and even moving to see how she handles life's daily (minutely?) ups-and-downs.

Review Excerpts

* This "fabbity, fab, fab" novel will leave readers cheering, "Long live the teen!" -- Booklist

* It will take a sophisticated reader to enjoy the wit and wisdom of this charming British import, but those who relish humor will be satisfied. Fresh, lively, and engaging. --School Library Journal

Connections

* There are many Georgia Nicolson books to enjoy!  Here they are along with other books by Louise Rennison. And here is the movie version.

* And here is the official Georgia Nicolson website!

* Excerpt from Angus, Thongs and Full-frontal Snogging:


Sunday August 23 rd
my bedroom
raining
10.00 am
Dad had Uncle Eddie round so naturally they had to come and nose around and see what I was up to. If Uncle Eddie (who is bald as a coot -- two coots, in fact) says to me one more time, "Should bald heads be buttered?" I may kill myself. He doesn't seem to realize that I no longer wear romper-suits. I feel like yelling at him, "I am fourteen years old, Uncle Eddie! I am bursting with womanhood, I wear a bra! OK, it's a bit on the loose side and does ride up round my neck I if run for the bus "but the womanly potential is there, you bald coot!"
Talking of breasts, I'm worried that I may end up like the rest of the women in my family, with just the one bust, like a sort of shelf affair. Mum can balance things on hers when her hands are full--at parties, and so on, she can have a sandwich and drink and save a snack for later by putting it on her shelf. It's very unattractive. I would like a proper amount of breastiness but not go too far with it, like Melanie Andrews, for instance. I got the most awful shock in the showers after hockey last term. Her bra looks like two shopping bags. I suspect she is a bit unbalanced hormonally. She certainly is when she tries to run for the ball. I thought she'd run right through the fence with the momentum of her bosoomers' as Jas so amusingly calls them.

still in my room
still raining
still Sunday
 11.30 am
I don't see why I can't have a lock on my bedroom door. I have no privacy; it's like Noel's House Party' in my room. Every time I suggest anything around this place people start shaking their heads and tutting. It's like living in a house full of chickens dressed in frocks and trousers. Or a house full of those nodding dogs, anyway I can't have a lock on my door is the short and short of it.
"Why not?" I asked Mum reasonably (catching her in one of the rare minutes when she's not at Italian evening class or at another party).
"Because you might have an accident and we couldn't get in," she said.
"An accident like what?" I persisted.
"Well you might faint," she said.
Then Dad joined in, "You might set fire to your bed and be overcome with fumes."
What is the matter with people? I know why they don't want me to have a lock on my door, it's because it would be a first sign of my path to adulthood and they can't bear the idea of that because it would mean they might have to get on with their own lives and leave me alone.

Story of a Girl

Story of a Girl
 by Sara Zarr

Bibliography

Zarr, S. (2007). Story of a girl. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Comapnay. ISBN 036014532

Summary

Deanna Lambert had sex at age 13, was caught by her father, and has been defined by that moment ever since. Story of a Girl  begins at the end of Deanna's sophomore year in high school.  High school - where she is considered a slut - has had unpleasant moments, but Deanna does have two friends.  We travel with Deanna through this redemptive story as she comes to terms with people in her life who have wronged her and who she has wronged, and finally finds herself.  There are no flashy happy endings, only reality.

Critical Analysis

When reading this novel, I felt like I was Deanna.  The powerful and realistic characterization allows the reader to experience situations they never (or may) have lived. Story of a Girl feels like it is set in Anytown, America, a place where events like this are completely believable and probably really happen.  The plot and theme are not only appealing, but genuine. You will be left asking yourself,  "Did I know Deanna, was I friends with her, or mean to her?"

Sara Zarr's style carries this novel.  She writes straightforwardly in the first-person, adding to that feeling of being a part of the story.  She winds up the story with no magically happy endings, but with the sense that Deanna is learning, growing, and that she is going to be okay.

Review Excerpts

*A heartfelt, realistic novel about being defined by one moment, one choice, and then having to reinvent who you are....An evocative, thoughtful read from a debut author to watch.  -- Cynthia Leitich Smith

*This is realistic fiction at its best. Zarr's storytelling is excellent. --School Library Journal


Connections

* Expert from Story of a Girl

I was thirteen when my dad caught me with Tommy Webber in the back of Tommy's Buick, parked next to the old Chart House down in Montara at eleven o'clock in a Tuesday night. Tommy was seventeen and the supposed friend of my brother, Darren.

I didn't love him.

I'm not sure I even liked him.


* Want more Sara Zarr? Visit her Amazon page where you can find Story of a Girl on audio read by the author (pictured above).

* Want even more Sara?  Visit her website where she discusses banned books.