Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Dagger Quick

Dagger Quick by Brian Eames. Published 2011.

I had read a few favorable reviews of this book and the cover definitely drew me in, but I have to say, I was not impressed. This was the book equivalent to a blockbuster movie staring Vin Diesel, in that, the action never stopped and the ante kept being raised, but nothing really happened...if that makes sense. That is my positive assessment of the book. With some kids enjoying thrills over character development, I think students could like this selection, but I didn't.

Christopher Wheale, otherwise known as Kitto, ends up on board a pirate ship captained by his uncle in hunt of spices, treasure and the return of his younger brother and his stepmom. Kitto refuses to let his club foot stop him from rescuing his family or living the life of a pirate, but the privateer ship captained by a Black-Hearted Morris is in pursuit to catch up with Captain Quick and find the bounty first.

Sounds like good pirate fun, but it wasn't. I never felt invested in the characters. The point of view switches between characters but there is no clear shift until after the fact making it a confusing read. The action keeps rising but it doesn't feel warranted, just to rise for the sake of it. Because I never felt attached to the characters and the point of view changes, I felt like I never really understood what was going on or why they had to do whatever it is they had to do next. In the end, I just scanned the last few chapters...which leads us to the end.

Apparently, they're trying to get a series going, but if not, worst ending ever. One character is left on the pirate ship with no clue to his fate, we never really know whats up with the spices/treasures, we know they're on the right island but don't know how they're getting off it. I mean, obviously, there is going to be a follow up, but this just made me mad, cause I read as long as I did thinking there would be some resolution. Instead, they jumped the shark, literally.

Interest level: Grades 3-6 Reading level: Grade 4 (I also don't agree with this as the language is rather old school to sound like a real pirate book--Grade 6 would be a better assessment)

Comparable titles: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, Larklight

Book connections: Pirate lore and history, Geography lessons, information about Congenital TEV (club foot)

No comments:

Post a Comment