Pirates! by Celia Rees

Bibliographic Information:

Rees, C. (2003). Pirates! New York, NY: Scholastic Inc. ISBN# 0439829518

Plot Summary:
Nancy Kington has grown up in a wealthy 18th century English home and leads a somewhat sheltered life. Her mother died when Nancy was very little and her father is often away doing business on his Caribbean plantation. Her brothers are busy helping her father. Consequently, Nancy doesn’t learn the typical female ways of her contemporaries. She does plan to marry her beau William someday, though. When her father dies, Nancy’s brothers send her to the family plantation in the Caribbean. Upon arriving Nancy is shocked when she sees slavery in action. Soon after Nancy discovers that her brothers have betrothed her to “the Brazilian,” a horrible man, in exchange for a large sum of money. Nancy becomes good friends with one slave in particular, Minerva Sharpe. When she walks in on the overseers attempting to rape Minerva, Nancy kills him. The two young women then decide that it is too dangerous to stay at the plantation. Nancy doesn’t want to marry “the Brazilian” and both women will be in trouble for the murder. Their only course of action, as they see it, is to become pirates. The Brazilian doesn’t like to be cheated; he vows to find Nancy and get his revenge. Meanwhile William has joined the British army and is trying to rid the world of pirates.

Critical Evaluation:
This book is great historical fiction. Rees has thoroughly researched her topic. Nancy Kington and Minerva Sharpe are strong female characters. As with most of Rees’s female protagonists, Nancy and Minerva go against societal norms. Becoming a pirate was surely not the prescribed way for a female to act whether she is a wealthy white woman or a slave. Rees shows that females aren’t helpless. Nancy and Minerva take charge of their situation; they don’t just let life happen to them. Another theme in Rees’s work is fear. Nancy fears the Brazilian, she fears William finding out that she is a pirate, and she fears for her life every time the ship attacks another ship. Teens will enjoy this novel, not only for the pirate theme, but also for the strong female characters. Hopefully they will also appreciate the historical accuracy. This is a must have book for any collection.
http://www.bloomsbury.com/pirates/female.htm
http://www.bloomsbury.com/pirates/inspire.htm

Reader's Annotation:
In the 18th century Nancy Kington finds herself in the Caribbean, owning a plantation full of slaves and betrothed to a horrible man who will pursue her at all costs. When she kills the overseer as he is attempting to rape Minerva, one of the plantation slaves, Nancy and Minerva take to the high seas and become pirates.

Information about the author:
Born in 1949, Celia Rees grew up in Solihull, England. Rees taught secondary English for seventeen years. While teaching she asked her students why they didn’t read the assigned books; they responded “that they wanted books with action, horror, danger, magic and pirates.” Rees then decided, “I wanted to write the kinds of books my teenage pupils would want to read.”

In addition to writing, Ms. Rees visits schools to discuss her books and writing. She goes to various receptions, discussions, and writing panels to discuss books and writing with other writers. Discussing her craft with other writers is very important to Ms. Rees. Rees also feels strongly about libraries. Rees feels that libraries should not be closed as a means to save money, especially not in the poorest areas.

Currently, Rees lives in Learnington Spa in Warwickshire, England. She lives with her husband Terry. They have a daughter, Catrin, who lives in London.
http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth03A14J441312634823
http://www.encompassculture.com/readerinresidence/authors/celiarees/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Celia_Rees
http://www.celiarees.blogspot.com
http://www.celiarees.com/author/biography.html


Genre: Historical Fiction

Curriculum Ties: Language Arts; History

Booktalking Ideas:
• Discuss the slave trade.
• Discuss the historical aspect of female pirates.
• Why would Nancy’s brothers give her to a man she didn’t even know?
• What is your opinion of Nancy’s brothers? Why do you think that way?
• What is your opinion of the Brazilian? Why do you think that way?
• Discuss gender norms of the time.
• How do Nancy and Minerva go against societal norms for women of their time?
• How is fear used throughout the story?
• If you were to write a final chapter that would go after Rees’s last chapter, what would happen to the characters? Why?

Reading Level/Interest Level:
The widest age range, according to the reviews, is 11 – 18, though I would recommend it to high schoolers.

Challenge Issues:
Slavery; violence; piracy; rape; murder; mystical occurrences

If the book is challenged:
• Listen calmly to the complainant.
• Ask if s/he has read the entire novel.
• Show positive reviews of the novel.
• Show the selection policy.
If the complainant still has issues with the book:
• Request that the complainant read the entire book if this has not already occurred.
• Have the complainant fill out a reconsideration form.
• Set up a reconsideration meeting.
o Provide the reconsideration meeting members with:
 Positive reviews
 Selection policy
 Reconsideration policy

Selection Process:
I did a search on Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database with the following criteria: Award winner, reviews available, and age range from 15 – 18.

Eight positive reviews

Awards/ Best Books Lists:
• Appears on nine Best Books Lists
• Appears on 13 state/provincial reading lists
• Has received two awards

Reading/Interest level, selection process information, reviews, and Awards/Best Books Lists were accessed using the Children’s Literature Comprehensive Database at http://clcd.odyssi.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/cgi-bin/member/search/f?./temp/~xRa8vx:1 accessed through SJSU and not available to everyone.