Pirate: A Short Story from Guys Read: Thriller

by Walter Dean Myers

Abdullah Syed Hari is fourteen years old. He loves his family and his friends. And he is a Somali pirate. A short story from Guys Thriller, edited by Jon Scieszka.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Short Stories

Kindle Edition

First published September 20, 2011

About the author

pseudonyms:
Stacie Williams
Stacie Johnson

Walter Dean Myers was born on August 12, 1937 in Martinsburg, West Virginia but moved to Harlem with his foster parents at age three. He was brought up and went to public school there. He attended Stuyvesant High School until the age of seventeen when he joined the army.

After serving four years in the army, he worked at various jobs and earned a BA from Empire State College. He wrote full time after 1977.

Walter wrote from childhood, first finding success in 1969 when he won the Council on Interracial Books for Children contest, which resulted in the publication of his first book for children, Where Does the Day Go?, by Parent's Magazine Press. He published over seventy books for children and young adults. He received many awards for his work in this field including the Coretta Scott King Award, five times. Two of his books were awarded Newbery Honors. He was awarded the Margaret A. Edwards Award and the Virginia Hamilton Award. For one of his books, Monster, he received the first Michael Printz Award for Young Adult literature awarded by the American Library Association. Monster and Autobiography of My Dead Brother were selected as National Book Award Finalists.

In addition to the publication of his books, Walter contributed to educational and literary publications. He visited schools to speak to children, teachers, librarians, and parents. For three years he led a writing workshop for children in a school in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Walter Dean Myers was married, had three grown children and lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. He died on July 1, 2014, following a brief illness. He was 76 years old.

Reviews

[K2 · Rating 4 out of 5]

GoodRead

[Kari · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a short story I came across while seeking a book about pirates (thanks, book bingo!). It's a quick read and well-written, about a 14-year-old boy who joins a Somali pirate raid. It's a bit violent but appropriate to the story and not glorified. It gives a hint at the modern-day reality of piracy which I think useful to contrast the romanticism of fairy-tale pirate stories.

[Connor Waterman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pirate by Walter Dean Myers is a great book. A boy named Abdullah lived near a beach where the fish started dying because a barge's oil began leaking. This had been happening for multiple years and the city was fed up with it. So people got on a little boat and hijacked the barge. They held people there captive to get them to stop leaking the oil. Abdullah was in charge of keeping a little girl quiet sot he people on the barge wouldn't know they were there. He let her go to the restroom and she contacted the Army. The uncle found her and threatened to kill Abdullah for letting her go. The Army came with a helicopter to protect the people on the barge because they were rich and important. Abdullah's group sent him out to talk to the soldiers; he demanded money and a promise to stop killing the fish. The agreed and peacefully departed.

[Ali · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did this for a reading challenge - Book about pirates - and decided to take a different approach. This book is about modern Somali pirates and is told from the perspective of a young boy. It was interesting but too short. Even a children's book can give a bit more context. Still, good read.

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and realistic look at real-life, modern-day piracy.

[Cyndi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting short story novel about a Somalian young man who is recruited to be a pirate. It gives us a peek into the reasons why these young men choose to be pirates and how a raid is conducted in modern times.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to understand the issues that the Somalians have or want to understand our modern day pirates a little more.

Language: none
Sex: none
Violence: some
Drugs/Alcohol: none

[Nickie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the POV of pirating from a Somalian child. Definitely an eye opening take on the issue and how the Right Thing is not the same for all.