Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "mermaid"

Captain Monty Takes the Plunge by Jennifer Mook-Sang

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The most feared pirate sailing the seas is Captain Monty the Malodorous. He’s brave and bold and an expert swordsman. There’s just one problem. He can’t swim, which is why he doesn’t bathe. (He claims no self-respecting pirate would even think of doing so, even though his crew regularly takes baths.) No one seems to mind much until Captain Monty falls in love with a mermaid named Meg. As much as she likes him, she refuses to go out with him because he stinks!

Her rejection depresses Captain Monty so much that he keeps to himself and refuses to hunt for treasure or attack other ships. He mopes around so much that he doesn’t even realize his crew has gone ashore until he needs their help. An octopus has attacked Meg and dragged deep into the sea. Captain Monty can’t forsake his beautiful Meg. He must save her, even though it means he must jump into the ocean.

This is a delightfully refreshing tale that is sure to please pirate and animal fans alike. Captain Monty is a fox, and his crew is comprised of an otter, an elephant, a rabbit, a parrot, and a bear. When he takes the plunge, he puts himself at risk and thinks of an inventive way of to save Meg. Rather than using the common “Arrrr!”, he says “Yar-har-har!” – which sounds far more piratical – and although the author keeps within the boundaries of common pirate lore, she steers clear of clichés. The artwork is equally captivating and colorful. It also includes tiny details readers might overlook the first time through. (For example, watch for the flying pig. He’s not where you’d expect.) At times humorous, the illustrator always captures the emotion in the scene. Captain Monty Takes the Plunge is a great way of teaching young pirates that some risks are worth taking and anything is possible if you just try.




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When the Mermaid Sings by Helen Hollick

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


For years, Jesamiah Mereno has endured his older half-brother’s bullying. But the day they bury his father in 1708, the harassment goes too far and Jesamiah fights back. Banished from his home, he signs aboard a merchant ship bound for Port Royal where he hopes to meet up with a friend of his father, Captain Malachias Taylor. On the way, the vessel is overtaken by a Spanish warship. In spite of his young age, Jesamiah devises a wily plan and the merchant captain takes a risk on the fifteen year old.

Meeting Malachias and joining the privateer proves easier than Jesamiah expects, but he soon earns himself an enemy among the crew. He’s also tempted by a beautiful mermaid, who mistakes him for his father, and a girl’s voice he hears in his head. She’s come to him in the past, but has never revealed her name until now and more than once Tiola intervenes in dire situations. So does his father’s ghost, which leaves Jesamiah wondering who’s real and who’s not.

After a successful voyage, they put into port and Malachias disappears. A week later a note arrives with orders for Jesamiah to appear at a gentleman’s club. When he gets there, he must play the final round of a high-stakes card game. Contrary to Malachias’s hope, Jesamiah loses and, once again, Jesamiah comes up with an audacious plan to regain what is lost. This time it means they can never return to Port Royal.

This novella is a prequel to Hollick’s Sea Witch Voyages and takes place over the span of two years. Readers learn why Jesamiah changes his surname to Acorne, as well as how he becomes a pirate. Along the way, he meets Henry Jennings, whom he crosses paths with time and again in the future, and Charles Vane, who becomes a deadly enemy. An accusation of murder and a sea battle that nearly costs Jesamiah his life are but two of the mishaps he endures in this fast-paced enchanted tale set before his days as captain of the Sea Witch.




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Emily Windsnap and the Pirate Prince by Liz Kessler

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Calamity is a hallmark of the Windsnap family. They are forever preventing disasters. After a brief respite from halting a major disaster, it’s time to return home. Being merfolk, Emily’s dad and her best friend travel underwater, but her mom, who is human, will sail aboard a five-star cruise ship. Thirteen-year-old Emily can go either way since she’s half mermaid, half human, but knowing her mom sometimes feels left out, Emily decides spending some quality time with her mom is best. So with her mom, her mom’s best friend, and Aaron, her own boyfriend, Emily boards the ship. After all, what can possibly go wrong there?

PIRATES!

To be more precise, the pirate king, his wife, and his two sons, along with all the members of their crews, board the cruise ship, steal all the treasure, and lock the passengers in their staterooms. Well, almost all. Emily realizes that Aaron has vanished and fearing he’s in trouble, she sneaks out of her cabin to search for him. That’s how she happens to overhear the pirate king discussing a contest with his sons, Noah and Sam. Noah, who is arrogant and seems to do no wrong, has won the first round. Sam had been in the lead, until his mother realized the present he gave her – Emily’s mother’s necklace – has a mermaid on it! His dad goes ballistic, and Emily realizes that the pirates hate mermaids. Which doesn’t bode well for her if they learn her secret. She also discovers why Noah has snatched Aaron. He’s familiar with Halflight Castle, which gives Noah an advantage in the next round of the contest. The ultimate prize is Trident’s Treasure, and once they find it for their father, he will retire and the winner will become the new pirate king.

Determined to find Aaron, Emily offers Sam a way to better his chances of winning. If she helps him find the treasure and he becomes the new pirate king, he promises to release Aaron. It seems to be a win-win situation until she discovers that Sam doesn’t really want to be a pirate and that his crew would rather be aboard Noah’s ship. Plus pretending to be a hostage isn’t as easy as she thought, and what if Sam or the others discover who she really is? That possibility becomes even more real when she learns that Noah doesn’t have just one prisoner. He has two: Aaron and Shona, her best friend and mermaid. Even worse, Aaron has turned pirate.

This eighth book in the series is a galvanizing treasure-hunting adventure, whether this is your first visit to Emily’s world or you’re a longtime fan. It’s also a tale of discovery, not only in deciphering the puzzles but also in being true to yourself, rather than what everyone expects you to be – a lesson Emily learns the longer she works side-by-side with the pirates. Kessler deftly demonstrates the differences between a loving family and a dysfunctional one. Emily Windsnap and the Pirate Prince is humorous, poignant, and magical.




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