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A review by phyrre
The Ship of Shadows by Maria Kuzniar
3.0
You can read my full review on my blog, The Bookwyrm's Den, here.
Many thanks to The Write Reads and Penguin for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review and for inclusion on this blog tour.
Pirates = Good.
Female pirates = Great.
A whole magic ship full of female pirates = Must read.
Ship of Shadows is a charming, cozy adventure filled with both heart and danger. It’ll transport the reader to far-away countries, across dangerous seas, and all with the comfort of some charming female bonding and found family.
I think I’m in the minority in that I didn’t love this book. I did enjoy it, though, and the most important part: even though my adult brain struggled with it, I think children would love this. Younger me would have, for sure, and I can think of quite a few kids at my library who would, because it fits neatly into that wish fulfillment niche that is especially unique to middle grade readers.
My Thoughts:
- The world-building in this is immersive, and will take readers to various different countries and introduce them to diverse cultures. In a sneaky way that is sure to catch young readers’ attention, without having them rolling their eyes at having to actually … ugh … learn something. I loved how smoothly different cultures were introduced in the narrative, and I learned several things I hadn’t known, too, and was excited to recognize some more trivial facts that I did happen to know. It’s pretty much a given that pirates are going to travel, and good pirates can blend into their surroundings, so it makes perfect sense that these ladies would have to know at least something about the lands they’re traveling to. I was so excited to see this, because I’ve been looking for books that can introduce kids to other cultures sneakily, by tricking them into having an adventure, and this really delivers on that.
- The magic in this is absolutely charming. As if being pirates isn’t enough of a draw, the ship itself is magical. How neat is that?! I think this was probably my favorite part of the book, and I can imagine kids would love it just as much. What’s better than being a pirate? Being a pirate on a magical ship, of course. The magic aboard the Ship of Shadows is born from legends about it, which means the rooms and things that appear are based on what yarns people are weaving about it, and I loved that. Exploring the ship with Aleja and Frances was one of my favorite parts of the story, because there was so much to love about the ship. I’m more than a little jealous that I can’t set sail in her myself.
- This book is just chock full of adventures and puzzles. I mean, it wouldn’t be much of a pirate book without swashbuckling, now would it? This book skirts the line between cozy piracy and the actual brutalities of piracy really nicely, sparing the reader the real nitty-gritty, but also reminding them that everything comes at a price. I liked that even while it was glamorizing piracy to an extent, there were some harsh realities about the dangers. There is a little bit of a quest going on here, though, which means there are sometimes puzzles or riddles to solve, and I think that’ll definitely appeal to young readers. I thought they were kind of easy/obvious, but I’m also old and jaded, and it feels like a good level for the target audience.
- I can’t end this review without mentioning the all-female crew, which drew me to this book in the first place. Not only were they diverse, but there was something different to love about all of them. I actually really liked that the book delved not only into their ethnic backgrounds (since they’re all from different places, with different cultures), but they all have very different life experiences. I absolutely adore stories with both found family and crews, so combining both into this one book seems pretty efficient to me. I really enjoyed reading the crews’ interactions, not to mention the difference in personalities.
Sticking Points:
- Aleja is too good at … well, basically everything. Magically. Because the plot requires her to be. This goes back to the wish fulfillment thing I mention. Of course kids are going to enjoy this part more than I did, and this book is really for them, but my old, lame adult brain kept shorting out at everything this kid could do. She's clearly "not like other girls," taught herself English just by reading English books (and somehow can pronounce it nearly perfectly when speaking aloud), finds a secret hidden book, and accidentally uncovers a counterfeiting ring in just the first 10% of the book. It was ... a lot. I know wish fulfillment books are huge in MG, and I’m not even against kids doing fantastical feats. I just want a reason in the story to believe that they’re capable of doing these things, which I didn’t feel from this story. Every time Aleja pulled off yet another thing, I kept thinking, but how?! I don’t have to think it has to be realistic or real. I just have to buy it in the context of the story. Again, this is very much a me thing, but it makes me twitchy.
Many thanks to The Write Reads and Penguin for a copy in exchange for an honest, unbiased review and for inclusion on this blog tour.
Pirates = Good.
Female pirates = Great.
A whole magic ship full of female pirates = Must read.
Ship of Shadows is a charming, cozy adventure filled with both heart and danger. It’ll transport the reader to far-away countries, across dangerous seas, and all with the comfort of some charming female bonding and found family.
I think I’m in the minority in that I didn’t love this book. I did enjoy it, though, and the most important part: even though my adult brain struggled with it, I think children would love this. Younger me would have, for sure, and I can think of quite a few kids at my library who would, because it fits neatly into that wish fulfillment niche that is especially unique to middle grade readers.
My Thoughts:
- The world-building in this is immersive, and will take readers to various different countries and introduce them to diverse cultures. In a sneaky way that is sure to catch young readers’ attention, without having them rolling their eyes at having to actually … ugh … learn something. I loved how smoothly different cultures were introduced in the narrative, and I learned several things I hadn’t known, too, and was excited to recognize some more trivial facts that I did happen to know. It’s pretty much a given that pirates are going to travel, and good pirates can blend into their surroundings, so it makes perfect sense that these ladies would have to know at least something about the lands they’re traveling to. I was so excited to see this, because I’ve been looking for books that can introduce kids to other cultures sneakily, by tricking them into having an adventure, and this really delivers on that.
- The magic in this is absolutely charming. As if being pirates isn’t enough of a draw, the ship itself is magical. How neat is that?! I think this was probably my favorite part of the book, and I can imagine kids would love it just as much. What’s better than being a pirate? Being a pirate on a magical ship, of course. The magic aboard the Ship of Shadows is born from legends about it, which means the rooms and things that appear are based on what yarns people are weaving about it, and I loved that. Exploring the ship with Aleja and Frances was one of my favorite parts of the story, because there was so much to love about the ship. I’m more than a little jealous that I can’t set sail in her myself.
- This book is just chock full of adventures and puzzles. I mean, it wouldn’t be much of a pirate book without swashbuckling, now would it? This book skirts the line between cozy piracy and the actual brutalities of piracy really nicely, sparing the reader the real nitty-gritty, but also reminding them that everything comes at a price. I liked that even while it was glamorizing piracy to an extent, there were some harsh realities about the dangers. There is a little bit of a quest going on here, though, which means there are sometimes puzzles or riddles to solve, and I think that’ll definitely appeal to young readers. I thought they were kind of easy/obvious, but I’m also old and jaded, and it feels like a good level for the target audience.
- I can’t end this review without mentioning the all-female crew, which drew me to this book in the first place. Not only were they diverse, but there was something different to love about all of them. I actually really liked that the book delved not only into their ethnic backgrounds (since they’re all from different places, with different cultures), but they all have very different life experiences. I absolutely adore stories with both found family and crews, so combining both into this one book seems pretty efficient to me. I really enjoyed reading the crews’ interactions, not to mention the difference in personalities.
Sticking Points:
- Aleja is too good at … well, basically everything. Magically. Because the plot requires her to be. This goes back to the wish fulfillment thing I mention. Of course kids are going to enjoy this part more than I did, and this book is really for them, but my old, lame adult brain kept shorting out at everything this kid could do. She's clearly "not like other girls," taught herself English just by reading English books (and somehow can pronounce it nearly perfectly when speaking aloud), finds a secret hidden book, and accidentally uncovers a counterfeiting ring in just the first 10% of the book. It was ... a lot. I know wish fulfillment books are huge in MG, and I’m not even against kids doing fantastical feats. I just want a reason in the story to believe that they’re capable of doing these things, which I didn’t feel from this story. Every time Aleja pulled off yet another thing, I kept thinking, but how?! I don’t have to think it has to be realistic or real. I just have to buy it in the context of the story. Again, this is very much a me thing, but it makes me twitchy.