- Written by Iszi Lawrence
- Published by Bloomsbury
I absolutely love a book by Iszi Lawrance, I have loved everything she has ever written and I always come away from her books by learning something new about history.This time we are taken on a pirate adventure set in the 18th century.It’s 1718: pirate ships sail the oceans and brutal slave masters control the plantations.Eleven-year-old Abigail Buckler lives with her father in the Caribbean. Her clothes are made of finest muslin so she can’t play in them, not that there’s anyone to play with anyway. She isn’t even allowed to go out alone. But when pirates attack Abigail’s life will change forever. Suddenly her old certainties about right and wrong, good and bad start to unravel.Maybe Abigail doesn’t have to be so ladylike after all…Usually, when you read a Middle Grade pirate story the pirates are usually silly drunks, but these pirates are different. They are full of laughs, they have hopes and dreams, they have ambitions, and are family men and very loyal,but these men are still pirates, and they are incredibly dangerous individuals to be around. Reading this, you get a good understanding of pirate life and what it meant to be one. We get to follow the main character Abigail as she turns herself into a pirate. As with other books by Iszi Lawrance she doesn’t shy away from the dark history of the 18th century. We get a look at the racism that we saw around that time, and we see how Abigail’s best friend Boubacar (her father’s slave) deals with the complexities of his life. It was so interesting to see how Boucher preferred the pirate life and all the freedom he managed to get. You get adventure and danger all without leaving your houseI adored every single second of thais book, and Iszi Lawrance is starting to become one of my favourite authors around, and I look forward to her next book.
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