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Annabel Pickering and the Sky Pirates: The Fantastical Contraption

Bretigne Shaffer (Goodreads Author)

4.20 · Rating details · 5 ratings · 4 reviews

What is the Fantastical Contraption? What secrets does it hold inside? And what about it convinced the Queen to abduct Annabel Pickering’s parents?

Thirteen-year-old Annabel Pickering loves her ordinary life riding her pony, reading novels, and riding the trains and flying machines high above the city. And she ALWAYS crosses the street before she gets to the weird old hous ...more

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Mar 22, 2020 Barb rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: adventure, children-middle-grade, steampunk, fantasy

Annabel Pickering is a plucky young heroine that every reader can root for. She manages to keep her cool throughout this adventure where her parents are abducted by the Queen’s Guard for no apparent reason, she falls under the protection of the neighboring spinster she’s always believed to be one square short of a quilting bee, she’s transported aboard a pirate dirigible into hiding, and stumbles into a veritable whirlwind of other unexpected and unpredictable events. Any ordinary 15-year old yo ...more

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Dec 22, 2019 Lauren Jones rated it really liked it · review of another edition

If you had a chance to board an air ship that sailed the skies with pirates, would you jump at the idea or be fearful? Aren’t pirates supposed to follow a different code than most ‘normal’ law abiding citizens? It is this very reason that Miss Annabel Pickering finds herself among their company and Shaffer certainly does make her journey fantastical!

As a thirteen-year-old girl, Annabel Pickering is far from perfect. She goes to school, she gets picked on, and she always avoids passing the spins If you had a chance to board an air ship that sailed the skies with pirates, would you jump at the idea or be fearful? Aren’t pirates supposed to follow a different code than most ‘normal’ law abiding citizens? It is this very reason that Miss Annabel Pickering finds herself among their company and Shaffer certainly does make her journey fantastical!

As a thirteen-year-old girl, Annabel Pickering is far from perfect. She goes to school, she gets picked on, and she always avoids passing the spinster’s house on her way home for fear of even more torment from the mean girls. On one horrid day in particular, Annabel is on her way home when she sees men abducting her parents! Not knowing what she should do, her first instinct is to hide, but someone takes her from behind and drags her into a neighboring house before the men in black spot her. And to what house does she find herself holed up in…of course it’s the crazy old spinster’s house and her weird niece to boot! After some things are explained—but not much—Annabel must travel with pirates, escape the Queen’s Guard in a hotel, and forge friendships with those she would have never imagined in order to save her parents.

Shaffer’s characters are spontaneous, creative, and fun. They are also well developed, having a sense of adventure, mystery, and determination among other traits that readers can relate to. The pace of this story begins a bit bit slow, but there is a lot being introduced, like liquid music and… the unfolding of a bigger plot at work. With incredibly original concepts and intrigue, Annabel’s adventure becomes a story that readers will soon find themselves consuming at a much faster rate. That is what makes an exceptional story, right?! The anticipation and nail-biting or the “hanging on the edge of your seat” feeling are there for this entertaining middle-grade story. The book cover is also very appealing, especially to a younger audience and that is always a plus for the author since this is the first thing that readers generally see before the book blurb on the back. There are a few spelling and grammatical errors; however, this should not hinder the enjoyment of the novel. If you are a reader of children’s action and adventure or middle-grade steampunk, you may be interested to find out what happens to Annabel and her search for her parents.

An electronic copy of this book was provided to Turning Another Page by Reedsy Discovery and in no way affects the honesty of this review. We provide a four-star rating to Annabel Pickering and the Sky Pirates: The Fantastical Contraption by Bretigne Shaffer.
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Sep 09, 2020 Stephanie Petersen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is the book I wanted to curl up with when I was 12 years old. It contains a wonderful world in which to lose yourself; I fully expected to encounter the likes of Caractacus Potts or Miss Truly Scrumptious within its pages, and I very nearly did. But unlike many of the books I read as a child back in the 1970s, Shaffer's story includes an added dimension. Without being preachy, the Annabel Pickering story illustrates to young readers the face of a very real villain: a rent seeking, regulator ...more

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Jul 14, 2020 Kristin rated it liked it · review of another edition

Annabel P. And the Sky Pirates was an interesting read. It's geared towards a YA audience and I think they'd enjoy it more than I did. Well, some of it. The story takes place in an unspecified year and time. The characters are intriguing as is the story. Although it does tend to drag on in some areas. The predicament that Annabel finds herself in is definitely going to be unsettling for many tween/teen readers. The ending was pretty odd and leaves many questions unanswered which is why I am only ...more

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