My Salty Mary

Starred review from June 1, 2024
A saucy, feminist take on "The Little Mermaid." This clever mashup includes actual 18th-century women pirates Mary Read and Anne Bonny, not to mention Blackbeard's son, Tobias, legendary pirate Calico Jack, and a whole host of captains (Ahab! Crunch! Hook!). Woebegone mermaid Mary falls in love with a boy she rescues and becomes human to be with him. Alas, he turns out to be a narcissistic blowhard. After Mary jumps overboard, she's rescued by pirates and pretends to be a boy in order to join their crew, which includes Tobias. Later, she runs into Calico Jack, her cousin who's also Above, or in our world. He's searching for his human father when he meets and is smitten with pugnacious Anne Bonny. At the AARP conference--the Admirable Association of Retired Pirates, that is--Mary, Jack, Anne, and Tobias learn that there's to be a contest to determine the next Pirate King; whoever brings back the most treasure wins. Tobias knows where Blackbeard's treasure is hidden. Meanwhile, Mary's overbearing father, the Sea King, agrees to a bargain--either she becomes Pirate King or he takes her back home to Underwhere. This delightful farce contains seamless twists and gripping action, as well as some somber nods to harsh gender and racial inequalities. Tongue-in-cheek references, accessible writing, and dialogue that readers will connect with all create an immersive reading experience. The leads are white; Tobias is brown-skinned. This swashbuckling tale anchored by historical details is a treasure. (authors' note) (Historical fantasy. 13-18)

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Starred review from August 1, 2024
Grades 7-11 *Starred Review* Mermaid princess Mary traded her life Underwhere for a life Above, all for the love of a so-called prince. When he breaks her heart by marrying another, prettier girl, she doesn't die or turn into sea foam: she becomes a pirate. She cuts love out of her life, except love of the sea, and joins the crew of the Ranger, masquerading as a boy named Mark--and she'll eventually become known as the famous pirate Mary Read. Also twisted up in this seafaring epic are another renowned woman pirate, Anne Bonny, and yes, of course, Blackbeard, too. The Above appearance of Mary's cousin Jack, son of the Sea Witch, complicates everything because he's fallen in love with a human, too. Add in the pirate hunter Jonathan Barnet, and this wild tale is in high, humorous gear. Fans of the authors' Lady Janies books already know to expect a fun and fluffy historical fiction ride, but this pirate tale goes far beyond expectations, giving a rollicking adventure on the high seas (and not the high C's--this Little Mermaid only sings sea shanties). HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The recent tv adaptation of My Lady Jane should boost interest in all of the Lady Janies books, including this one.

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November 15, 2024

Gr 9 Up-The Little Mermaid ditches her prince and becomes a pirate under the alias Mary Read. She befriends-and friend-zones-the son of Blackbeard, then teams up with her pansexual half-merman cousin and his lover, Ann Bonny, in a competition to find Blackbeard's treasure and win the title of Pirate King. Pirate-fiction fans, beware. The authors of this novel are honest. In the authors' note, they establish that "in the interests of telling an enjoyable story," they have "softened" the "actual murder and pillaging" and the historical Caribbean. The result is entertaining, for those who enjoy visiting places like Underwhere and Booty Island, or prefer books where ships are "parked" rather than docked; dynamite is used a century before its invention. While the reworking of the Little Mermaid story is fun as Mary contends with human culture, the fictional emancipation of Hans Christian Andersen's heroine narrows the emotional scope of the novel to frothy silliness without delving into the sort of humor that comes with insight. By the end of the novel, a new Pirate Queen announces that "The Future of Piracy is us." Must an "enjoyable" story be told at the expense of history? VERDICT This title is for fans of the authors' collaborations; otherwise, for mermaids and queering the fairy tale, read Emma Donoghue's Kissing the Witch or Trung Le Nguyen's The Magic Fish, and for swashbuckling and funny, historically embedded lady pirates, go to L.A. Meyer's "Bloody Jack" series or Briony Cameron's The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye.-Katherine Magyarody

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