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sapphiremarie's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
sophie221010's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-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
4.0
Beautifully heartwarming, exciting story with diverse, interesting characters and settings.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
duchessofreadin's review
4.0
I really enjoyed reading this book. It was a nice getaway, from the usual tropes that have been coming out lately. Aleja wants to be an explorer, but for a female, it is not the normal job that a girl should have. When she finds a ship full of pirates, and female pirates, she is amazed. When she is pulled into the crew, she finds way more than she bargained for. Coupled with the book that she found, she finds more adventure than she ever thought possible - and maybe where she fits in.
I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun and easy read! Kids will really enjoy reading this book!
I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun and easy read! Kids will really enjoy reading this book!
karina_dreamsinwords's review
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
What a swashbucklin' fun adventure story!
I don't read middle grade books often, but when I do I always enjoy myself. It's great to be reminded of the sense of childlike wonder & whimsy within these stories. I loved it!
I don't read middle grade books often, but when I do I always enjoy myself. It's great to be reminded of the sense of childlike wonder & whimsy within these stories. I loved it!
becxreadz's review
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Liked
*Diverse cast of characters
*Characters and story felt older than a middle grade
*Seafaring pirate adventure
*Magical pirate ship
*Action packed
*Felt very Indiana Jones, Road to Eldorado, pirates of the Caribbean, the mummy all combined
*Shadow and ghost friends
5⭐️
*Diverse cast of characters
*Characters and story felt older than a middle grade
*Seafaring pirate adventure
*Magical pirate ship
*Action packed
*Felt very Indiana Jones, Road to Eldorado, pirates of the Caribbean, the mummy all combined
*Shadow and ghost friends
5⭐️
cjhh's review
4.0
There are pirates and ghosts and old maps and adventures in the desert. I would say I would love this book if I was a kid, but honestly I loved it as an adult.
spookystaircase's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
michaelcattigan's review
3.0
Aleja is a dreamer who longs for a life of magic and adventure. So when a mysterious ship arrives in her Spanish harbour city, crewed by a band of ruthless women, Aleja knows it’s sailed right out of a legend.
And it wants her.
But life aboard the Ship of Shadows is more than even she bargained for. It will take all of Aleja’s strength and skill to gain the trust of her fellow pirates – and discover what they are risking everything to find . . .
Caveat: I received this book free from the publisher, courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Pirates. Magic. Krakens. Seriously, what is not to love for any young reader wanting adventure. Throw in the all-girl kick-ass crew and this is a great, fun read.
Aleja is our protagonist, the youngest daughter in a family who run a tavern in Sevilla, Spain. Being working class and female there is the hint of oppression and patriarchy and bullying in the world that Kuzniar creates, but just a hint. Somewhat anachronistically and improbably, Aleja has a facility with language and a love of reading – would someone of her class and gender have been given enough education in what seems to be nineteenth century Spain to read in her own language let alone foreign languages? – and a hankering after adventure. Adventure that seems to be impossibly beyond her grasp, save for the tall tales of sailors she overhears in the tavern and the stories in the books she reads.
Until, one night, she spots a mysterious ship limping into harbour, blackened and smoking. The eponymous Ship of Shadows, sailing out of legend and drunken tales into her life. As luck would have it, she makes contact with the pirates, happens to have been clutching a mysterious and sought-after book at the same time and is invited on board. And thus she is swept out of her hum-drum life and into an adventure. It is sheer teenage escapist fare – did we all yearn for something similar?
Once on board, we are introduced to a range of piratical stereotypes: missing limbs and scars, tattoos, cutlasses and muskets, crows’ nests and rigging. And there are additions: the crew is all female (which was great), the parrot is replaced with an owl (a rather more fierce one than Hedwig!), the piracy is ethical (which did sort of diminish the piratical nature of the crew), the ship is haunted by a somewhat stroppy ghost, and the ship is magical.
The magic is wonderful: the ship is, in Captain Quint’s words
“crafted with the fabric of legends… When something is immortalized in stories, it gives the air of enchantment I find.” She peered closer at Aleja then, a nearby lantern flashing light on her face in odd patterns. “Every legend you hear about the Ship of Shadows is true. Its magic is fed by them…”
The power of story, legend, narrative manifesting itself in the magic of the ship – a somewhat chaotic magic which creates shadows, some of which are shadowy imprints of past crew members, some of which are somehow sentient, and new passageways and rooms, cabins, caverns and caves within the ship’s fabric. The limitations of space seem to be somewhat bypassed in a TARDIS-like way!
The characters are all warm and familiar enough, a touch two dimensional perhaps: Elizabeth Quint, the Captain has the air more of a stern but good hearted school head teacher than anything else, a descendent of the mysterious and mythic Thomas James whose ship this seems to be; the Quartermaster Malinka is fierce and intimidating; the nimble thief Frances who befriends Aleja; the engineer Farren, the chemist Velka and the cook Ermtgen… all of them kind and loyal behind varying degrees of coarseness. They did remind me a little of the crew of the Wayfarer in The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet – a family more than a crew perhaps – a replacement for the mother lost to Aleja. It is certainly (at the moment) seems to be a crew from which Quint does not need to fear mutiny!
Anyway, adventure awaits as the crew set sail, not to plunder merchant ships, but to seek out clues to a magical treasure map and hidden cities, and to evade a shadowy nemesis with the power to strip the ship of its shadows and magic.
The novel gallops apace with a great pace, with occasional pauses to explore the ship and battle krakens, but it did perhaps lack a little depth for me.
I’d have liked more of the social issues in Sevilla explored before we left it behind, more of Aleja’s family so that her being torn between the desire to stay aboard the ship and to return home was felt more keenly. There is a moment where a lesbian relationship is introduced and – whilst I like the idea of it being there but not being an issue – that felt very anachronistic to me. Surely Aleja brought up in a very traditional role would have reacted in some way!
And I’d have loved the magic of the ship to have contributed something to the narrative – the idea behind the magic was lovely but the story would not have been changed in any meaningful way without it. Amazon compares the book with The Girl of Ink and Stars which is perhaps unfortunate and highlights the ways in which this book, whilst good, is not as good as that one!
To conclude, a great fun read which I would hope would capture the attention and imagination of its target audience beautifully – and which has left itself very much open to sequels! What age range would I suggest it to? Maybe 8-11s. I’d have loved to have read it at that age!
RATINGS:
Overall:
Characters:
Plot / Pace:
Worldbuilding:
Structure:
Language:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Publisher: Penguin
Date: 16th July 2020
Available: Amazon, Penguin
And it wants her.
But life aboard the Ship of Shadows is more than even she bargained for. It will take all of Aleja’s strength and skill to gain the trust of her fellow pirates – and discover what they are risking everything to find . . .
Caveat: I received this book free from the publisher, courtesy of NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Pirates. Magic. Krakens. Seriously, what is not to love for any young reader wanting adventure. Throw in the all-girl kick-ass crew and this is a great, fun read.
Aleja is our protagonist, the youngest daughter in a family who run a tavern in Sevilla, Spain. Being working class and female there is the hint of oppression and patriarchy and bullying in the world that Kuzniar creates, but just a hint. Somewhat anachronistically and improbably, Aleja has a facility with language and a love of reading – would someone of her class and gender have been given enough education in what seems to be nineteenth century Spain to read in her own language let alone foreign languages? – and a hankering after adventure. Adventure that seems to be impossibly beyond her grasp, save for the tall tales of sailors she overhears in the tavern and the stories in the books she reads.
Until, one night, she spots a mysterious ship limping into harbour, blackened and smoking. The eponymous Ship of Shadows, sailing out of legend and drunken tales into her life. As luck would have it, she makes contact with the pirates, happens to have been clutching a mysterious and sought-after book at the same time and is invited on board. And thus she is swept out of her hum-drum life and into an adventure. It is sheer teenage escapist fare – did we all yearn for something similar?
Once on board, we are introduced to a range of piratical stereotypes: missing limbs and scars, tattoos, cutlasses and muskets, crows’ nests and rigging. And there are additions: the crew is all female (which was great), the parrot is replaced with an owl (a rather more fierce one than Hedwig!), the piracy is ethical (which did sort of diminish the piratical nature of the crew), the ship is haunted by a somewhat stroppy ghost, and the ship is magical.
The magic is wonderful: the ship is, in Captain Quint’s words
“crafted with the fabric of legends… When something is immortalized in stories, it gives the air of enchantment I find.” She peered closer at Aleja then, a nearby lantern flashing light on her face in odd patterns. “Every legend you hear about the Ship of Shadows is true. Its magic is fed by them…”
The power of story, legend, narrative manifesting itself in the magic of the ship – a somewhat chaotic magic which creates shadows, some of which are shadowy imprints of past crew members, some of which are somehow sentient, and new passageways and rooms, cabins, caverns and caves within the ship’s fabric. The limitations of space seem to be somewhat bypassed in a TARDIS-like way!
The characters are all warm and familiar enough, a touch two dimensional perhaps: Elizabeth Quint, the Captain has the air more of a stern but good hearted school head teacher than anything else, a descendent of the mysterious and mythic Thomas James whose ship this seems to be; the Quartermaster Malinka is fierce and intimidating; the nimble thief Frances who befriends Aleja; the engineer Farren, the chemist Velka and the cook Ermtgen… all of them kind and loyal behind varying degrees of coarseness. They did remind me a little of the crew of the Wayfarer in The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet – a family more than a crew perhaps – a replacement for the mother lost to Aleja. It is certainly (at the moment) seems to be a crew from which Quint does not need to fear mutiny!
Anyway, adventure awaits as the crew set sail, not to plunder merchant ships, but to seek out clues to a magical treasure map and hidden cities, and to evade a shadowy nemesis with the power to strip the ship of its shadows and magic.
The novel gallops apace with a great pace, with occasional pauses to explore the ship and battle krakens, but it did perhaps lack a little depth for me.
I’d have liked more of the social issues in Sevilla explored before we left it behind, more of Aleja’s family so that her being torn between the desire to stay aboard the ship and to return home was felt more keenly. There is a moment where a lesbian relationship is introduced and – whilst I like the idea of it being there but not being an issue – that felt very anachronistic to me. Surely Aleja brought up in a very traditional role would have reacted in some way!
And I’d have loved the magic of the ship to have contributed something to the narrative – the idea behind the magic was lovely but the story would not have been changed in any meaningful way without it. Amazon compares the book with The Girl of Ink and Stars which is perhaps unfortunate and highlights the ways in which this book, whilst good, is not as good as that one!
To conclude, a great fun read which I would hope would capture the attention and imagination of its target audience beautifully – and which has left itself very much open to sequels! What age range would I suggest it to? Maybe 8-11s. I’d have loved to have read it at that age!
RATINGS:
Overall:
Characters:
Plot / Pace:
Worldbuilding:
Structure:
Language:
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3.5 out of 5.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
⭐⭐⭐
Rating: 3 out of 5.
Publisher: Penguin
Date: 16th July 2020
Available: Amazon, Penguin
lmn9812's review against another edition
5.0
I can't put into words how much I adored adventuring with Aleja. This was everything I want in a middle-grade fantasy--imaginative, full of rich world-building, interesting characters and non-stop adventure. Fast-paced and never predictable, THE SHIP OF SHADOWS is one of my favourite reads of 2020 so far. Utterly, utterly brilliant, and I can't wait to read more of Aleja's story (fingers crossed for a second book ASAP!!)