Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary 'Jacky' Faber, Ship's Boy (Bloody Jack Adventures) [Audio CD]

L.A. Meyer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2007 | Series: Bloody Jack Adventures

Life as a ship's boy aboard HMS Dolphin is a dream come true for Jacky Faber. Gone are the days of scavenging for food and fighting for survival on the streets of eighteenth-century London. Instead, Jacky is becoming a skilled and respected sailor as the crew pursues pirates on the high seas. There's only one problem: Jacky is a girl. And she will have to use every bit of her spirit, wit, and courage to keep the crew from discovering her secret. This could be the adventure of her life--if only she doesn't get caught...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The tale of Mary, an 18th-century London street urchin who dresses as a boy, renames herself Jacky and goes to sea as a ship's boy, soars to new heights in the audio format. Mary's distinctive Cockney dialect is tailor-made for reading aloud. And with award-winning narrator Kellgren at the helm, the result is pure magic. She creates authentic character voices, switching effortlessly among Mary's Cockney, the melodic Irish lilt of sailor Liam, the educated American voice of schoolmaster Tilden, the chillingly sinister, leering tone of Jacob Sloat and many other voices without missing a beat. Her acting is also first-rate: her tone of pride as Mary boasts of her achievements, her tenderness as she speaks of Jaimy, the boy she secretly falls in love with, and the sheer terror in her voice during scenes of violence and danger will have listeners on the edge of their seats. For tweens and teens caught up in this summer's Pirate Fever, Bloody Jackis the perfect audiobook to make those long family car trips fly by. Ages 12-up. (May)
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* Living on the streets of London with a gang of street urchins, orphan Mary decides she’ll have an easier time of it if she poses as a boy. Following the murder of her friend Charlie, Mary steals his clothes, collects his “shiv,” calls herself Jacky Faber, and signs on as a lowly ship’s boy on a Royal Navy frigate. Kellgren’s flexible British accent easily captures the seafaring atmosphere and Jacky’s emotions as she tries to hide her true identity from her mates and superiors. She consistently maintains Jacky’s Cockney accent, Irish sailor Liam’s brogue, and a Jamaican seaman’s Caribbean lilt, excellently reflecting the varied nationalities and personalities onboard. Jacky’s appearance attracts the attention of a slimy pedophile, portrayed by Kellgren in sinister, suggestive tones. Jacky eventually falls in love with a boy on the ship who learns of Jacky’s true gender, and in a memorable scene onshore, Kellgren’s high-pitched tones easily mimic Jacky’s successful attempt to imitate the voice of an island girl to deceive her shipmates. Nautical music introducing and concluding the work adds to the mood, as does Kellgren’s impressive singing of a ballad. Populated with wicked sailors, midshipmen, and a close-knit group of ship’s boys, this rousing historical tale is an appealing choice for fans of adventures, sea stories, and gutsy girls. Grades 6-9. --Pam Spencer Holley

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Audio CD
• Publisher: Listen & Live Audio, Inc.; Unabridged edition (April 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1593160941
• ISBN-13: 978-1593160944
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 5.5 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 0.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,065,965 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

L. A. MEYER is the author of Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary "Jacky" Faber, Ship's Boy. He also has been a designer and an art teacher, and is currently the curator and exhibitor at the Clair de Loon Gallery near his home in Corea, Maine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely wonderful, January 24, 2008

By 

Kathryn L. Iacampo (APO, AE United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary 'Jacky' Faber, Ship's Boy (Bloody Jack Adventures) (Audio CD)

This Audio CD is utterly fantastic!! I cannot rave about it enough. It is so good, that I am sitting here typing a recommendation, something I have never done for all the thousands of books I have purchased here.

I had already read the novel, and two sequels. I love the books, and I love the character of Jacky Faber. Then, I got this audio book for Christmas as I had just gotten a job which required a 45 minute commute each way, so I thought this would help kill the time. Well, I love this story even more now, having heard Katherine Kellgren's wonderful reading. I swear, you'll think it is Jacky herself telling her story. This actress, and that's what she deserves to be called, really made this story come alive. If there are Oscar's for audio book narrator's, I hope she wins one! Do I sound like I'm gushing? Well, I am! Not only is this a wonderfully fun story for any age, but hearing it read by this incredibly talented woman truly takes it to the next level.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great fun! Read them all!, August 26, 2005

By 

Friday Next (The Library) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bloody Jack: Being An Account Of The Curious Adventures Of Mary Jacky Faber, Ship's Boy (Turtleback School & Library Binding Edition) (Bloody Jack Adventures) (School & Library Binding)

There are now 3 of the Jacky Faber books. I've read them all, and I've enjoyed every one of them (the 1st and 3rd more than the 2nd).

What I like most about the books, besides the action, is the sheer joy and spunkiness of the main character, Jacky Faber. She gets into scrape after scrape, but always comes out on top. She's impulsive and careless, but wily and resourceful. And though she's definitely a fantasy creation, the naval adventure genre is full of fantasy creations (Horatio Hornblower being the most obvious example). So why not have a female one, for once?

Read these books. You won't regret it!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'll be listening to this one more than once., May 5, 2010

By 

Roxana W. "Roxy" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary 'Jacky' Faber, Ship's Boy (Bloody Jack Adventures) (Audio CD)

The book story alone is fantastic, highly amusing and even thought-provoking with some of the things Jacky comes up with. Katherine Kellegreen however, makes it ten times more entertaining to listen to, the voices she makes are great, they vary so well that you're not really thinking it's one woman, but even without that her voice for Jacky alone is one of the most entertaining things I've listened to in a while. I think I'll continue the series with the audiobooks because of her.