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annabellee 's review for:
When I first read this in seventh grade, I thought it was amazing. The action, the adventure, and with a girl at the center of the story! What excitement! Though I did not remember much of the plot when I sought to re-read it, I did remember how much I enjoyed it.
While I did not enjoy it quite as much this time, I do still hold that his is a good book (if best enjoyed as a child).
On re-read, I found Charlotte to be an irritatingly weepy, whiny girl at the start and Captain Jaggery exceptionally transparent, which dissolved a lot of the surprise that was supposed to be garnered with the plot twists, which for the most part were still good. The trial scene was ridiculous enough to take me out of the story, but most "legal" scenes tend to be that way for me (curse you, law school! You've ruined an entire genre!) so feel free to disregard that portion of my calculation.
That said, I do still think it is a good book. I appreciate Charlotte's growth as a character, as she learns to think for herself and judge others based on their merit as opposed to their status. The ending is just as satisfying as I remember it being. The writing is for a school-aged child, simple and direct and to the point. Different classes of characters have different qualities of speech without resorting to writing in an incomprehensible dialect. The descriptions of the ship are most informative, and the terminology very accurate, which was a nice surprise.
There is some graphic violence, no graphic language or sex. I would recommend this book for elementary to lower high school readers. Three stars.
While I did not enjoy it quite as much this time, I do still hold that his is a good book (if best enjoyed as a child).
On re-read, I found Charlotte to be an irritatingly weepy, whiny girl at the start and Captain Jaggery exceptionally transparent, which dissolved a lot of the surprise that was supposed to be garnered with the plot twists, which for the most part were still good. The trial scene was ridiculous enough to take me out of the story, but most "legal" scenes tend to be that way for me (curse you, law school! You've ruined an entire genre!) so feel free to disregard that portion of my calculation.
That said, I do still think it is a good book. I appreciate Charlotte's growth as a character, as she learns to think for herself and judge others based on their merit as opposed to their status. The ending is just as satisfying as I remember it being. The writing is for a school-aged child, simple and direct and to the point. Different classes of characters have different qualities of speech without resorting to writing in an incomprehensible dialect. The descriptions of the ship are most informative, and the terminology very accurate, which was a nice surprise.
There is some graphic violence, no graphic language or sex. I would recommend this book for elementary to lower high school readers. Three stars.