Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Girl battles scallywags, ball gowns in fast-paced sequel.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 8+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
It's true: Young Hilary Westfield (aka THE TERROR OF THE SOUTHLANDS) is now a member of the Very Honorable League of Pirates. But there's still some grumbling about the League's first female member, and she's soon ordered to prove herself with faraway adventures. Almost immediately, though, her plans change, because Miss Pimm, finishing-school headmistress and the Enchantress, has disappeared. Hilary thinks it's perfectly piratical to help a friend in need, but soon she and her crew (her friends Charlie, Claire, and a self-important gargoyle) are battling buccaneers and scallywags and facing terrible dangers, from flying cannonballs to a High Society ball.
Is It Any Good?
As in Magic Marks the Spot, author Caroline Carlson delivers a fast-moving, mostly lighthearted romp of a pirate adventure, with a few positive life lessons and quite a few laughs for good measure. Independent-minded tween girls will find it especially easy to relate to the young Terror's troubles ("Poor Mother," Hilary muses. "I believe she would have been much happier with a daughter who could actually stand to wear a dress for more than half a minute").
Carlson punctuates the narrative with newspaper stories, ransom notes, pirate missives, chapters from the gargoyle's memoirs, and lots of "arrr"s, offering plenty of opportunities for read-aloud drama.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why pirate stories have been so popular for many generations. What pirate stories do you like best?
Hilary has to work hard to prove herself to a lot of people who think girls shouldn't be pirates. Have you ever had people tell you you couldn't do something because you were a girl or a boy? How did it turn out? What did you do?
Do you think you'd like a life of adventure on the high seas, or would you rather stay close to home? If you went off on an adventure, whom would you bring along?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Dave Phillips
- Genre : Fantasy
- Topics : Adventures , Family Stories ( Siblings ) , Friendship , Pirates
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : HarperCollins Children's Books
- Publication date : September 9, 2014
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 8 - 12
- Number of pages : 336
- Available on : Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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