Magic Marks the Spot (Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates #1)

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.)

Gr 3-6—Hilary strives to be a pirate, but it's hard when the VNHLP (Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates) declines her application because of her gender. She's also the daughter of the Admiral of the Augusta Royal Navy, who is a sworn enemy of pirates, and she's been sent to a finishing school run by Miss Pimm where she is trapped in fainting, waltzing, and embroidery classes. Luckily, Hilary has her magic gargoyle to assist her in running away to the ship of the Terror of the Southlands, a polite pirate named Jasper Fletcher. Along with Jasper's ward, Charlie; Hilary's governess, Miss Greyson; and a boy she suspects is a spy, Hilary sails off on the Pigeon in search of magic buried by the Enchantress of Augusta. But there is something fishy going on in Augusta with magical items being stolen, Miss Pimm taking her girls to sea, and the admiral in hot pursuit of the Pigeon, unconcerned that his daughter is onboard. Will the magic fall into the wrong hands? Will Hilary and Charlie be able to rescue their friends from the dungeons into which they have been mistakenly tossed? In the end, no one is who they seem. In the magical world of Augusta, pirates grow beautiful flower gardens, letters mysteriously get to ships within hours, and the dungeons contain crocheted rugs. The narrative is interspersed with letters, forms, and quotes from the VNHLP handbook that make for entertaining reading, and the whole package is a silly, rollicking good time.—Clare A. Dombrowski, Amesbury Public Library, MA