Piotr Ciereszynski Ciereszynski itibaren Abbasbəyli, Azerbaijan itibaren Abbasbəyli, Azerbaijan

Sean and I picked How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long from a recent Scholastic book club catalogue. We both enjoy pirate stories. In How I Became a Pirate Jeremy Jacob is at the beach with his parents when he sees a pirate ship sail by. The pirates invite him to join them and he agrees. See Jeremy has exceptional digging skills from all his sandcastle building and the pirates are in need of a digger to help them find their treasure! The book is a good mix of adventure and the home life. The pirates don't make him eat his veggies and they don't expect table manners. On the other hand, he doesn't have a comfy bed or someone to tuck him in. I liked that the pirate life gave Jeremy reasons to want to go home. So often the adventures are so fantastic that there's no reason for the protagonist to go back home and yet he usually does. It's a good start to the classic tale of a young boy befriended by pirates. See also Camp Buccaneer by Pam Smallcomb, Captains Courageous by Rudyard Kipling and Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Wasn't sure I was going to like this book, but really did,

I recommend this book all the time. Reading this book was like breathing in fresh air. The most creative and intriguing work of fiction I have delved into in a very long time.

The writing is beautiful and poetic, but it's about very bizarre things, such as incest and life-long irrational obsessions. It's an interesting story, beautifully told, but be ready for some "fucked-upness".