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Steel [Hardcover]

Carrie Vaughn
3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)

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Book Description

March 15, 2011

It was a slender length of rusted steel, tapered to a point at one end and jagged at the other, as if it had broken. A thousand people would step over it and think it trash, but not her.

This was the tip of a rapier.

Sixteen-year-old Jill has fought in dozens of fencing tournaments, but she has never held a sharpened blade. When she finds a corroded sword piece on a Caribbean beach, she is instantly intrigued and pockets it as her own personal treasure.

The broken tip holds secrets, though, and it transports Jill through time to the deck of a pirate ship. Stranded in the past and surrounded by strangers, she is forced to sign on as crew. But a pirate's life is bloody and brief, and as Jill learns about the dark magic that brought her there, she forms a desperate scheme to get home—one that risks everything in a duel to the death with a villainous pirate captain.

Time travel, swordplay, and romance combine in an original high-seas adventure from New York Times bestseller Carrie Vaughn.


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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Throughly enjoyable” (Kirkus )

“Vivid period details add to the appeal of this unusual swashbuckler.” (ALA Booklist )

“This unique story should have broad appeal.” (Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA) )

About the Author

Carrie Vaughn survived her air force brat childhood and managed to put down roots in Colorado. Her first book, Kitty and the Midnight Hour, launched a popular series of novels about a werewolf named Kitty who hosts a talk-radio advice show. She is also the author of Voices of Dragons, her debut novel for teen readers. Ms. Vaughn lives in Colorado.


Product Details

  • Hardcover: 304 pages
  • Publisher: HarperTeen (March 15, 2011)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0061547913
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061547911
  • Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.7 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #459,422 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I was born in California, but grew up all over the country, a bona fide Air Force Brat. I currently live in Colorado, with my miniature American Eskimo dog, Lily. I have a Masters in English Lit, love to travel, love movies, plays, music, just about anything, and am known to occasionally pick up a rapier.

I've never been a DJ, but I love writing about one.

Here's my website: www.carrievaughn.com

Customer Reviews

Despite this, the story felt... sanitized, almost. Ashleigh  |  5 reviewers made a similar statement
Steel is a surprisingly fantastic adventure for teens and adults alike. SciFiChick  |  7 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Adventure March 15, 2011
Format:Hardcover
Sixteen-year-old Jill is devastated when she loses her fencing tournament. So instead of enjoying her family vacation in the Bahamas, Jill spends her time sulking. On a stroll down the beach, Jill discovers an old, rusted sword fragment. But the sword tip is magical and transports Jill back in time to pirate infested waters. Rescued by a pirate ship with a female captain, Jill is given a chance to join the crew. But the longer she's there, the more Jill wants to find a way home.

When story begins, Jill is a moody girl, constantly feeling sorry for herself. But when she's forced into a hard life on a pirate ship, Jill's outlook changes dramatically. She's a hard worker and compassionate. Vaughn's pirates are not overly dramatized nor made into Hollywood-like heroes. Though at times Jill's captain makes heroic choices. The pirates are still thieves and murderers, yet governed by a democracy of sorts, live by a code, and cherish their freedom.

Steel is a surprisingly fantastic adventure for teens and adults alike. A time-travel fantasy with swashbuckling pirates, danger, and suspense - this is a must read. This exciting voyage was well-paced and impossible to put down. This is a story I didn't want to end. Full of swordplay, strong characters, and a bit of romance, I enjoyed every minute of it.
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16 of 20 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Mediocre March 24, 2011
Format:Hardcover
Maybe I've been reading too much Cormac McCarthy lately or was expecting this to have more action like Crichton's Pirate Latitudes, but I was not impressed by Steel. I can normally pick out the flow and ending of a story from the very beginning. So as the action started to rise in Steel, I was anticipating a lot more than a fizzle out. For example, one of the pirate confrontations has them screaming and waving their weapons around getting ready for battle. But before the ship even gets close, the other crew surrenders with barely a word. This happens several times and I understand this is for young adults, but there's a difference between toning down violence and just letting the action die before it even starts. Although I must give Vaughn credit for the origin of the sword -- quite demented.

Overall, Vaughn's research is wonderful. The details on fencing are elementary enough for someone who is just beginning an interest in fencing to fall in love with the sport. And for those already involved, the fight scenes are described well so that the reader can easily picture the movements. There's also a nice glossary. At the end of the book, Vaughn describes her researching methods, so I was a little disappointed to find out how much she'd researched on pirates but didn't include in more depth.

This is a great read for someone who is around 10-12 and even better for someone wanting to get into fencing. But if you're over 14 looking for a swashbuckling adventure, pass this one up.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars This is swashbuckling for MY generation! March 16, 2011
By Essie
Format:Hardcover
This is not swashbuckling from the 80s or 90s. This is today's swashbuckling adventure for today, for me, and I love it. This book makes me want to learn fencing!

Jill is the sports competitor that 99% of us were... not the best, but good at what we liked to do. And the rest of the adventure is... well... fantasy. But it is fantasy that springs from the tradition of the old Captain Blood and Muskateers and Zorro films. Not the dark gritty 90s cheeze that was trying way too hard, but an honest adventure. Yes there are dark and scary moments, but our hero Jill takes on her problems with an intelligent bravado that would make Errol Flinn and Scaramuche proud. But still there is a modernity to it that makes it the book for US and not the baby boomers... the protagonist-gains-superpowers-and-returns-from-the-adventure-to-triumph of the 80s is gone here, supplanted with a much more believable and real gain.

I hope lots of young girls get inspired by the characters in this book... be a Jill when you're my age (Okay I'm 22 so a little older but not THAT much!) and be a pirate captain when you're older. (I googled it... there really were women captains!)

So yeah, this book is fantastic. The plot is carefull, the characters are steady and consistent, and while the good guys and bad guys might be a little black and white, it just feels like a reckognition of the black and white of the movies that this book makes you imagine... and I hope if it ever gets made into a movie the pirate parts are filmed in black and white, like a reverse wizard of Oz. Anyways with a feel that leaves the 70s and 80s trend towards "gritty" and "dark" behind in favor of just good story and a heroic growth that real people can really learn from, this author has just won me over as an author of the future shining out in a world where other books are still clinging to the past.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Acceptable, but Disappointing
Carrie Vaughn has been one of my favorite authors since I was in the fifth grade (although in retrospect I question how appropriate a choice her books were), so I was really,... Read more
Published 1 month ago by D. B.
4.0 out of 5 stars Lady Pirates!
Who can resist a story full of cheeky pirates and sword flailing adventure? I was a little hesitant about this story at first, because I generally don't like time travel stories,... Read more
Published 2 months ago by OpheliasOwn
4.0 out of 5 stars Argg
I was not use to reading stories other than about Kitty from Mrs. Vaughn. It was an interesting and fun read. To bad it had to end with just one book. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Van Harklerode
5.0 out of 5 stars Steel
Very entertaining for all ages I would recommend this book to all my friends a big 5 stars for Steel
Published 4 months ago by Gaylene Helling
2.0 out of 5 stars Lacked in character development...
Because I had known who the author was due to her Kitty Norville series, I decided to take a chance on another book she wrote. Steel, however, was nothing like her other series. Read more
Published 6 months ago by BookButterfly
4.0 out of 5 stars steel
The book was written to be enjoyed by all young and old. I loved how it made you feel you were right there with the main character. Would love to see another one like this.
Published 7 months ago by Lady J
5.0 out of 5 stars Good story
"Steel" seems to be for teen readers mainly, but it's still a good read. Mainly I'm a fan of Carrie Vaugh, and this story didn't disappoint.
Published 10 months ago by She-Puppy
4.0 out of 5 stars Steel
This was a really good book! I love pirate books and putting a bit of a modern spin on it seemed to work for a fencer. Read more
Published 10 months ago by ButterflyGirl
1.0 out of 5 stars Once again the eBook price is higher than the paperback
I enjoyed Vaughn's Kitty books and thought I would try this one. But there is no way I'll pay a buck more for the ebook. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Sonny Denbow
2.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but not good enough for anything else
Also appears on The Screaming Nitpicker.

After a loss at a tournament by just half a second, Jill feels blue and unsure of where she is going to go from there. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Ashleigh
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