Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being an Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady

With sass and song, Katherine Kellgren portrays Jacky Faber as schoolgirl and part-time tavern performer. Fighting off pirates in BLOODY JACK barely prepared Jacky for the battles she faces after being given the heave-ho as midshipman on the HMS DOLPHIN; losing her true love; and being sent to a Boston boarding school. Kellgren's terrific portrayal of Jacky's reluctant transition to finishing school extends to the cast of snobbish classmates, low-life Bostonians, sailors, prostitutes, a creepy constable, and a mad minister who is a descendant of Cotton Mather. Jacky's endless propensity for trouble leads the listener on a rollicking journey through 1800s America with the promise of more to come as she boards a whaling ship at novel's end. D.P.D. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

September 5, 2005
In this second installment of the series begun with Bloody Jack
(which PW
called "a rattling good read"), Mary "Jacky" Faber goes ashore, enrolled in the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls in Boston where she helps solve a murder mystery. Ages 12-up.

Starred review from December 1, 2008
Gr 8 Up-The audacious Jacky Faber is back in L.A. Meyer's fabulous sequel (2004) to "Bloody Jack" (2002, both Harcourt). In the first novel, Jacky cut her hair, put on boy's clothes, changed her name to Jack, and signed on as a ship's boy aboard a Royal Navy frigate. Jacky thrived at sea and attained the rank of a midshipman. When the Navy discovered she was a girl, they dumped her, albeit with great pomp and ceremony, in Boston. This sequel begins as Jacky leaves behind her beloved Jaimy, disembarks in Bostonin a dressto attend The Lawson Peabody School for Fine Young Girls. Jacky soon discovers that fighting pirates was a piece of cake compared to circumnavigating the complexities of becoming a lady. She fails at embroidery, but excels at sneaking out of school and playing her pennywhistle in taverns. Jacky falls short in French, but ably learns to ride astride a glorious stallion and compete in a horse race. Her table manners are deplorable, but her sleuthing abilities are top notch when she uncovers the murder of a former classmate. Finally giving up, Jacky abandons her school, in flames (don't ask), and jumps aboard a whaling ship to make her way back to Jaimy. Katherine Kellgren delivers a stunning performance with a myriad of amazing voices. Her cockney Jacky is just right and makes the story more accessible to listeners who may struggle with the Brit-speak. Loyal, clever, sassy, impudent, and just a little bit naughty, Jacky is a protagonist to admire. Simply delightful."Tricia Melgaard, Centennial Middle School, Broken Arrow, OK"

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.