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adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Violence, Murder, Alcohol
Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Terminal illness
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Really exciting! Pirates, treasure hunt, fighting, mutiny, and loads of rum - this was an epic adventure :)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A solid, fun, swashbuckling tale. It feels as though Stevenson simply wanted to indulge in a love for pirates and adventure, and did so shamelessly. It's a simple, straightforward read which left me content and sated by the end.
If you've seen the film adaptation "Treasure Planet" and are wondering how the book holds up: as one can infer from the different titles, the film takes many creative ways in a way I find brilliant, innovative, and positive. The book gave me a deeper appreciation for the film, and the creators' years-long fight to get it greenlit at Disney. They refreshed the classic while maintaining the integrity, keeping it appealing to modern audiences. The only, minor thing I wish had been retained in the film: the bit about Benjamin Gunn and his quest for toasted cheese! That would've fit in well in a children's film.
If you've seen the film adaptation "Treasure Planet" and are wondering how the book holds up: as one can infer from the different titles, the film takes many creative ways in a way I find brilliant, innovative, and positive. The book gave me a deeper appreciation for the film, and the creators' years-long fight to get it greenlit at Disney. They refreshed the classic while maintaining the integrity, keeping it appealing to modern audiences. The only, minor thing I wish had been retained in the film: the bit about Benjamin Gunn and his quest for toasted cheese! That would've fit in well in a children's film.
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Alcohol, Classism
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
There is not denying this is a classic. The way the plot unfolded so neatly, and the writing was good. The narrative being told through reports was interesting. Despite that I was rather bored and I struggled to get through this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Blood
Minor: Racism, Alcohol, Colonisation
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Alcohol
Minor: Colonisation
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A thrilling, classic adventure about 18th century seafaring and pirates and treasure hunting. More info in content section.
With older language, high vocabulary, antiquated turns of phrase, and some hard-to-interpret "dialect writing", I would say a high school reader could handle it alone, but as a read aloud you could go much younger. My brother loved it in early elementary school.
With older language, high vocabulary, antiquated turns of phrase, and some hard-to-interpret "dialect writing", I would say a high school reader could handle it alone, but as a read aloud you could go much younger. My brother loved it in early elementary school.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Murder
Minor: Animal death, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Death of parent, Colonisation
The book being "from a different time", the casual racism is pretty bad. There's a paragraph near the end of the book about meeting people of color in Spanish America and 2-3 references to an unmet woman as the feminized n-word (e-one-g), "n***ess".
No sexual content aside from the very distant implication of an unmarried pirate having a female companion at another port (she is referred to with a racial slur). No cursing beyond old-timey pirate talk ("shiver my timbers" type stuff). The narrator dances around implied cursing by saying things like "with an oath I shall not write here".
There are many references to prayer, eternity, one's Maker, etc, all positive. The main character admonishes a pirate to pray for God's mercy. Superstitions about ghosts and defacing a Bible causing bringing a curse on you make an appearance. One pirate repeatedly uses "Christian" in an older English sense, to really mean "civilized" (i.e. "European"), and this isn't commented on.
The "good guys" do their duty (spelled "dooty" in the book) and keep their word even when they'd really rather not. Pirates are treacherous and deceptive.
There is a lot of drunkenness, portrayed negatively, though the "good guys" also use some alcohol and tobacco themselves.
The biggest concern some will have is the violence. Murder is kept at a little more distance, but there are accidental/self-defense deaths and intentional injury up close. Dead bodies are described at length. Peril feels very real. Hanging is mentioned frequently, being the legal penalty for piracy.
The "good guys" do maroon some pleading pirates, because bringing them home to the death penalty seemed cruel. They fire upon pirates in self defense and hold them at gunpoint preemptively.