Review: Piratica I

Piratica: Being a Daring Tale of a Singular Girl's Adventure Upon the High Seas (Piratica #1)

Author: Tanith Lee

Summary:

Artemesia is the daughter of a pirate queen, and she's sick of practicing deportment at the Angels Academy for Young Maidens. Escaping from the school, she hunts up her mother's crew and breezily commands them out to sea in a leaky boat. Unfortunately, Art's memories of her early life may not be accurate-her seasick crew are actors, and Art's infamous mother was the darling of the stage in a pirate drama. But fiery, pistol-proof Art soon shapes her men into the cleverest pirate crew afloat. And when they meet the dread ship Enemy and her beautiful, treacherous captain, Goldie Girl, Art is certain that her memories are real. The Seven Seas aren't large enough for two pirate queens: Art will have the battle of her life to win her mother's title—and the race for the most fabulous treasure in pirate lore.


Published 27 September 2004

*

I read this a while back, but I decided to post a review on this fantastic masterpiece!

Hmm... Loads of good books lately, I'm quite tickled!

*

Gaudy.

Outrageous.

Hilarious.

Foolish.

Dazzling.

Piratica is a swashbuckling adventure, an over-the-top comedy, and of course, an unforgettable love story.

It's been long since I last described a novel as a blockbuster. Piratica is one, just like one of my top books of 2011, Heist Society. Like a vibrant scroll of swirling colours, Tanith Lee's wonderful tale unfolds like an epic drama.

Piratica has a mesmerizing premise right from the start. First things first, I love pirates (Take Captain Jack Sparrow or Bloody Mary) and Art was a great personality to add to my list of suave pirates.

And then there's the HUGE twist, and by huge, I really mean it. It completely blew me away, and I was staring at the story with a slack jaw. Was Tanith Lee kidding me?! Aren't they supposed to be pirates? What on Earth was she thinking?

I almost put the book down, but thank goodness I didn't. I marched on, doused from head to toe with bewilderment. And, then I couldn't put the book down.

How would I know that the TWIST which I had looked upon with disbelief was to be one that would make Piratica so uniquely breath-taking?

Because of the TWIST, we get to see how she becomes a pirate from scratch. Because of the twist, we see the emotional depth of the book that is astounding for what I believed was just a showy pirate tale. Because of the twist, Piratica is to me more than just an average adventurous story. Instead, it becomes a coming-of-age novel where Art finds her past, her ship, her life, her destiny and her love.

Oh, need I talk about Felix?

This is one rare YA boy.

Don't raise your eyebrows at me because he is firstly, not a bad boy. Uh-uh, not a prince charming either. Nope, not a brooding mystery boy. Nah, he's not a gentle and caring male lead. His existence is a mystery that I completely didn't see from the start.

With dark blue eyes and ice blond hair, he is really hot, at least that's how I imagine him anyway. But he is more of ridiculously beautiful than jaw-dropping handsome. Just before you rule him into the kind of pure hottie category, listen to this-- his hair used to be black, but at the tragedy that befell his family it turned white.

Now, your eyes grow slightly wider.

But wait, when Felix first meets Art, she holds him up and steals his coat. She locks him in an abandoned house with no particular effort as he does not retaliate. While being chased by an angry mob who thinks that Felix is the notorious Highwayman Cuckoo Jack, Felix is rescued by Art and her crew.

Now you nod, thinking that maybe he is one of those spineless boys who are always in need of stronger girls (like Shay in Nightshade? *coughs*).

No no, he is a strategist, one that plans but not fight. He secretly plots to turn the crew in to the English authorities, but later falls in love with Art and saves her life at her hanging.

And now you are in love again. But, sorry, you have to halt in your tracks for a moment.  People took him up for his talents-- singing and drawing.

You are albeit a little confuse as to how to classify him.

So am I.

Because Felix Phoenix (his false name) cannot be classified. He is a rare boy, a royal person, a planner, a strategist, a kind heart and a soul on an evil mission for revenge. He is charming enough to avert a pirate battle (between Art and Goldie Girl), but cunning enough to charm the one girl he swore to kill; he is cunning enough to plan a seamless revenge, but not cunning enough to keep himself for falling in love.

What can I say? You can simply read Piratica for him. But, don't forget the TWIST and the amazing and astounding Artemesia Blastside (funny last name?).

Find this book and kidnap it home. I give 5 stars with no hesitation to this wondrous creation of Tanith Lee.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you... Piratica.

Source: Read while snuggled in a huge jacket on the Library floor

xoxo,
Sel

Review: Babe in Boyland

Babe in Boyland

Author: Jody Gehrman

Summary:

When high school junior Natalie - or Dr. Aphrodite, as she calls herself when writing the relationship column for her school paper - is accused of knowing nothing about guys and giving girls bad relationship advice, she decides to investigate what guys really think and want. But the guys in her class won't give her straight or serious answers. The only solution? Disguising herself as a guy and spending a week at Underwood Academy, the private all-boy boarding school in town. There she learns a lot about guys and girls in ways she never expected - especially when she falls for her dreamy roommate, Emilio. How can she show him she likes him without blowing her cover?


Published 17 February 2011.

*

This is a light & funny read. The idea is outrageous, but one that I've entertained for many times.

After watching Disney's Mulan, I kept on trying to find books dealing with the plot of a girl going under the disguise of a boy. The very notion itself has so many possibilities! So much trouble, romance & drama can ensue, it would be simply chaotic & astounding!

Jody Gehrman did a fun job of writing Babe in Boyland. The plan they had was ridiculous-- hacking into an all-boy academy student system, sticking pieces of wool as stubble... It was simple and straightforward, and the heroine did not hesitate to jump into her role of Nat Rodger.

But the thing I like about the plot is the social dynamics between boys as well as how Nat(alie) tries to fulfill her theatrical passion.

She starts off as a loser in the all-boys academy, a geek who looks girlish and is laughed at by Josh, her best friend's crush. The situation immediately reverses itself as Nat is spotted with her two best friends, Darcy & Chloe. And the boys treat her with grudging respect, thinking that she has a way with girls.

This is a story that you can't help but smile at. It's so simple yet so daring that it seems like a daydream you've always wondered about and now it's out in words.

All the while as we watch Nat manoeuver around Underwood Academy, we see her struggling to be herself with her hot roommate, Emilio. Nat's original school, Mountain View High, has collaborated with Underwood Academy for a play, The Importance of Being Earnest, with three students from MVH filling in the female roles in this famous play written by Oscar Wilde.

Amongst the three girls chosen, two are Nat's best friends (Darcy & Chloe) and the other is Summer, a girl who has always won the role Nat wants. Summer is the typical mean girl who is spoiled and fake, but this time, it's more interesting, with her playing the role of Cecily, who has a kiss scene with Algernon who is played by Emilio.

As Nat spies at the actors and actresses in rehearsal, she notices funny things about the way girls act with boys. She is obviously jealous of Summer, and her big chance comes when Summer ditches the Opening Night to go for a movie audition in Los Angeles.

Nat immediately suggests to let her cousin, "Natalie", play the role, as she had once been understudy to Summer in a previous version of the play. The problem is solved, and Nat goes through a makeover to become an unrecognizable girl in front of the boys.

 

"Chloe and Darcy have gone to great lengths to ensure the boys will never recognize me as Nat. They’ve made me way girlier than Natalie ever was. 

I’m wearing a long wig a couple shades darker than my natural hair color. My makeup is flawlessly applied; my eyes look huge and doe-like, my cheeks a delicate pink, my complexion smooth and creamy as ivory, my lips full and lush.

My costume is surprisingly flattering: high, stiff collar, a body-hugging waistline that makes the most of my limited curves, a snug little jacket, all of it in a pale violet that looks great with my dark hair and eyes. 

If I screw up every cue and get the blocking ass-backwards, at least I’ll look good while I’m doing it. Though the afternoon is grueling, I have to admit it feels fantastic being a girl again. Getting gorgeous via Chloe and Darcy’s labor-intensive ministrations is kind of like going on a chocolate binge after weeks of subsisting on saltines. 

Cecily is an über-femme character, so every minute spent rehearsing that role means letting my softest, pinkest self come shining through. I let my voice climb soprano-high, let my laughter trill coquettishly. I flutter my lashes and indulge in coy, ladylike hand gestures. It’s so unexpectedly liberating to exaggerate every womanly instinct rather than tamping them all down. I never really appreciated how great it is being a girl—how much more we can get away with. I feel unbound, expansive, free; who ever would have guessed that playing a Victorian debutante could be so weirdly therapeutic?"

The play is a success, but at the after party, Summer returns and recognizes Nat who is forced to date Emilio's Sister, Erica. What a confusion! The secret comes out and Nat fleds the party and leaves Underwood Academy. In the end, she got her happily-ever-after.

In the end, no matter how shallow or foolishly wonderful the book is, there is still an underlying lesson-- you will be glad that you are a girl!

Here's some  answers that our main character has derived from her trip to boyland (not very helpful for us at thirteen, but still fun to know):

A Girl’s Guide to Guys:

Their Top Seven Secrets Revealed

by

Dr. Aphrodite (aka Natalie Rowan)

1) When you say you’re going to call and you don’t, what happened?

This requires a little anecdotal evidence, so bear with me. While disguised as Nat, I went on a date with a girl. Despite being a girl for seventeen years, prior to this experience I’d never really considered what we girls act like on dates. Let me tell you, the reality was eye-opening.

The girl I went out with—let’s call her Jennifer—was perfectly nice. She was sweet and smart with a dazzling smile. I’m sure if I met her under normal circumstances I’d rush to fix her up with my most eligible bachelor-friend. Being on a date with her, though, threw me for a loop. It was clear she had great expectations I was supposed to fulfil, yet decoding those needs from moment to moment felt like a warped game of charades. She wanted me to be Man of Mystery and her sleepover BFF all at once. How could I help but disappoint her? Then I realized something: Jennifer’s cryptic, high-maintenance behaviour was eerily familiar. I myself had behaved exactly the same way on numerous dates; I’d just never stopped to consider what it might be like on the receiving end. So what am I saying? That he didn’t call because you’re a moody head case? No, that’s not my point. Sometimes, though, “I’ll call you” is simply the fastest way to escape the withering power of a girl’s disappointed glare and/or the tremendous weight of her misplaced expectations.

2) What do you really look for in a girl?

There are as many answers to this question as there are guys, I’m sure. I will say, though, that most of the stuff we girls think is super-important to guys usually doesn’t factor in all that much. Trust me, you’re way more worried about the five pounds you gained than they are.

Here’s my advice: No matter what you think he’s looking for, have the courage to be who you are. Watching my own best friends around guys made me realize that sometimes we hide our best selves and project this other, more contrived girly puppet version of ourselves because we think that’s what boys want. Guys aren’t stupid. They sense when we’re trying too hard.

*

This is a fluffy read, but no serious engagement. Go ahead and give it a try if you are looking for a teenage drama built on a daydream!

Source: PDF

xoxo,

Sel

Coming Soon:

The Best Books I've read in 2011

Amazing Debuts in 2012

He snickers. “Don’t know what they see in you.”

“I’m sensitive.”