The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates #1: Magic Marks the Spot

by Caroline Carlson

Overview

Pirates! Magic! Treasure! A gargoyle? Caroline Carlson's hilarious tween novel The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates #1: Magic Marks the Spot is perfect for fans of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events and Trenton Lee Stewart's Mysterious Benedict Society.

Hilary Westfield has always dreamed of being a pirate. She can tread water for thirty-seven minutes. She can tie a knot faster than a fleet of sailors, and she already owns a rather pointy sword.

There's only one problem: The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates refuses to let any girl join their ranks of scourges and scallywags.

But Hilary is not the kind of girl to take no for answer. To escape a life of petticoats and politeness at her stuffy finishing school, Hilary sets out in search of her own seaworthy adventure, where she gets swept up in a madcap quest involving a map without an X, a magical treasure that likely doesn't exist, a talking gargoyle, a crew of misfit scallywags, and the most treacherous—and unexpected—villain on the High Seas.

Written with uproarious wit and an inviting storyteller tone, the first book in Caroline Carlson's quirky seafaring series is a piratical tale like no other.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062194343
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	09/10/2013
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	5.86(w) x 8.47(h) x 1.24(d)
Lexile:	900L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Caroline Carlson holds an MFA in Writing for Children from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She is an assistant editor of Children’s and Young Adult Literature at the literary journal Hunger Mountain. Before writing her first book, she worked as a textbook editor and helped to organize the children’s summer reading program at her hometown library. Caroline grew up in Massachusetts and now lives with her husband in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. You can visit her online at www.carolinecarlsonbooks.com.

Editorial Reviews

…this is a drawing-room comedy set on the high seas…The book is deliciously feminist but wears its politics lightly. Relationships are sweet and beautifully drawn, there is at least one laugh per page, and I quite enjoyed the notion of entrenched pirate bureaucracy…

The New York Times Book Review - Marjorie Ingall

★ 08/12/2013
There’s merriment and intrigue on the high seas in this debut novel, which sets the Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates series off to a promising start. Carlson’s characters are as memorable as they are entertaining, beginning with headstrong Hilary Westfield, the daughter of a pompous admiral. Hilary longs to be a pirate but is sent to finishing school, where embroidery, etiquette, and fainting are mainstays of the curriculum; accompanying her is a wisecracking gargoyle carved centuries before by an enchantress. Hilary runs away from school to join the crew of a “freelance” pirate, Jasper Fletcher, which also includes her former governess, an arrogant boy named Oliver, and the gargoyle, who serves as the ship’s figurehead (when Hilary tells him he needn’t serve that function, he replies, “And let some no-good mermaid get the job? I think not!”). A race to uncover long-lost magical treasure pits Hilary against her father, and several unforeseen plot zigzags (along with humorous letters, newspaper clippings, and guidebook excerpts) keep the novel on a delightfully screwy course. Ages 8–12. Author’s agent: Sarah Davies, Greenhouse Literary Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Shannon Associates. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

A whimsical, swashbuckling romp into a deeply imaginative world; Carlson’s novel is as plucky and clever as its heroine.

Soman Chainani

Avast! Pirates, magic, girl hero and a gargoyle sidekick? YES!! MAGIC MARKS THE SPOT is an amazing debut, a funny, rollicking adventure featuring a take-no-prisoners heroine and a cast of colorful characters. I eagerly look forward to the next book.

Sarah Prineas

A conked-out attacker lying in a pool of…beet juice is as close as this dainty piratical escapade gets to actual gore or violence. Except for providing application forms and refusing to let young Hilary Westfield be the pirate she's always longed to be, the bureaucratic buccaneers of the series' title remain in the wings in this kickoff tale. She must, perforce, accompanied by her brisk governess and trusty talking stone gargoyle, take matters into her own hands. She slips away from Miss Pimm's Finishing School for Delicate Ladies to join gentlemanly freelance pirate Jasper Fletcher ("Terror of the Southlands," as he's repeatedly dubbed) on a search for a certain fabulous trove of magical gold hidden long ago. Ensuing complications include the horrifying revelation that her own father, a renowned admiral, is scheming to take over the kingdom and banish piracy forever. The tongue-in-cheek tale is punctuated by vigorous but injury-free melees, plus images of tabloid newspaper pages, advertisements, extracts from the titular league's "Treasure Hunting for Beginners" manual and "handwritten" correspondence, including breathless exchanges between Hilary and a school friend. The adventure winds its way to a glittering hoard, a fabulous wedding and, best of all, a well-earned league membership card for its plucky protagonist. Even the gargoyle comes away with a pirate hat. A polite chorus of "Aaarrgghh"s all round, please, for this rather twee outing. (Fantasy. 10-13)

Kirkus Reviews