I got this as a free copy from a book rep only to open the front cover and see a list of sailing terms you should really know. Immediately I groan in my head because if there's one genre that really doesn't excite me it's sailing/boating. Regardless of this I persevered purely due to John Flanagan's name (despite never having read any of his before). Despite my initial reaction I really grew to enjoy the characters (mostly), the plot line and the humour.

Outcasts follows the Brotherband training of the group of weird/unpopular boys that nobody wanted in their team. Basically imagine eight Vikings (the slave boy, the hot-tempered one, the thief, the argumentative twins, the clumsy one, the class clown and the shy one) learning to wield swords/axes and learning to sail the seven seas. Sometimes the characters could grate on my nerves (especially the protagonist Hal) but for the most part I really was cheering for them and it broke my heart to realise what their downfall was going to be.

After reading this I feel that I really should catch up on my Ranger's Apprentice (especially after the small mention by the chief of a little help from a certain someone) and it's one I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to young lads.