Jacky cannot resist the allure of a paying job (with meals included!) on a navy ship, so she signs up as soon as she can. I’m feelin’ a great sense of freedom, like a weight’s been lifted from me shoulders, as I’m dartin’ me way down to the docks.”
It’s easier bein’ a boy, ‘cause I don’t have to look for no one but me. “It’s easier bein’ a boy, ‘cause when someone needs somethin’ done like holdin’ a horse, they’ll always pick a boy ‘cause they think the dumbest boy will be better than the brightest girl, which is stupid, but there you are. Mary becomes Jacky, and the adventure begins. She quickly notices that she can get a lot more out of the world when she “borrows” some boys’ clothes and starts to pass as male. When the leader of her gang was murdered, leaving her adrift, she decided to become her own leader. When the rest of her family succumbed to sickness, she survived and joined a street gang of begging children. It’s also an excellent gift for any young readers who are obsessed with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, because it offers much stronger female characters than you will find in any of those films. Who would we give it to? This is THE book for readers who loved The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle but need something a little more grown-up. What I think is most admirable, however, is how Jacky still owns her femininity, yet won’t let that interfere with her ambition to climb the ranks and someday be the captain of her own ship. She’s assertive and although she might be the smallest “boy” she doesn’t let anyone push her around. Looking at this cover for too long raises my blood pressure.ĭoes it break the slate? Yes yes yes! Jacky is clever in her use of the skills she already has, and whatever she doesn’t know she is willing to learn. Also, the blue-green tint of this cover makes this book look like a paranormal romance but it’s totally not. Her hair is gracefully billowing in the wind, but in the book Jacky took great care to keep her hair either short or concealed and she would never, ever have let it whip in the wind while out on deck. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?! Yes, this cover feels distinctly more YA, but they couldn’t have been more off the mark with their portrayal of Jacky. If I were a young reader perusing through YA and saw this cover, I might think that it was a middle grade novel that had been incorrectly shelved. But Jacky looks so young and androgynous in this picture that I can imagine it was hard to have this on a shelf in the YA section. I like the sense of movement – it’s reminds me of a still from an action movie. I have seen both in stores and on library shelves, and they are so wildly different that we need to do a compare-and-contrast right here, right now. Currently available.įace Value: Here we have a curious tale of two covers for one book. Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary “Jacky” Faber, Ship’s Boy by L.A.
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