Book preview: Pirates! by Celia Rees

Today we got four books from Canada! Yay! First of all, we got a book called The Gatecrasher by Madeleine Wickham. You may know Madeleine by her pen name "Sophie Kinsella"and you have probably at least heard of her Shopaholic books.

Next up, we have Dedication by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. If you've read The Nanny Diaries or enjoyed the movie, you may want to read this book as it was written by the same writers.

Next up we have Welcome to My Planet by Shannon Olson. This sounds like another book that you girls will enjoy.


We got Pirates! by Celia Rees which took third place in the Teens' Top Ten books of 2004. I've been trying to get this one for a year.

Amazon Description:

Pirates! is a classy and welcome addition to Celia Rees's successful oeuvre, that of novels with a historical background, such as the phenomenally bestselling Witch Child and Sorceress. Swashbuckling in the tradition of every pirate tale, from Treasure Island to Pirates of the Caribbean, Pirates! is truly gripping from first page to last and never fails to be totally entertaining throughout.

Nancy Kington and Minerva Sharp are two young women from very different backgrounds who, in time, become united in a common, pirating cause. Nancy, the daughter of a successful Bristol ship owner, had her life all planned out. She lived in comfort and hoped to marry her childhood sweetheart William. But disaster strikes and she is aghast to experience her circumstances turning upside down when her father dies. Soon she finds herself shipped out to land they own in the West Indies to marry for the good of the remaining family.

Minerva is part of the staff at her new plantation home and they immediately become friends--despite the delicate nature of their differing positions as merchant's daughter and slave. But Minerva has complications of her own--particularly from an abusive overseer. Nancy is eventually driven to murder him, and together they become fugitives. Joining a pirate ship comes naturally to both of them and a wild, wild life of seafaring and adventure begins.

With detailed research that leaps from every page, Rees's narrative is atmospheric but never heavy. She moves the story along at a jaunty pace, making it impossible for the reader to get bogged down. Rich and exciting, Pirates! is another triumph and unlikely to be bested by another pirate novel for some years to come. -- John McLay

Thanks to our Canadian friends, Erinkate and Veronique for sending the books!