Curse Of The Blue Tattoo: Being An Account Of The Misadventures Of Jacky Faber, Midshipman And Fine Lady (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
I am rating the unabridged audiobook recording of this novel and I find it almost impossible to try to separate the text from the "performance" in trying to craft my review so I simply won't! This audi0book has won all sorts of awards and for good reason. Narrator Katherine Kellgren is a phenomenon! Truly, I think she is the female Jim Dale. You would think this was a full cast recording her various voices and accents are so spot on. She instills such an incredible passion and "voice" to Jacky and yet all the secondary characters are remarkably vivid, as well. I was absolutely rapt listening to this. I tried many times to imagine what just reading this would be like--I don't think the voices in my head could be half so fine and whether Kellgren is merely capable of giving the story its just "voice" or whether she breathes added life into it I do not know, though I almost tend to believe it's the latter as there are some cases where I just KNOW her voice brought out so much more in terms of characterization and excitement. I did not realize until I had checked this out from the library that it is actually a sequel but I kept listening because I was so engaged and I think any holes were quite well filled in and for those who aren't looking for a seafaring adventure they may just prefer to jump right to Book Two, as well. Although this is mostly a character-driven story, there is a fair amount of excitement/action and good historical details. And I really enjoyed reading about America as seen through the eyes of a Brit in 1804! All in all, highly recommended especially for the audiobook. I'm eager to listen to more in this series as well as other recordings by Ms. Kellgren.SPOILERS TO ANYONE WHO HAS NOT READ BOOK ONE:After being discovered as the female she is, British Jack/y Faber, midshipman (er, woman), is sent off her ship and, with the treasure she helped retrieve, is sent to a fine girl's school in Boston, MA where she is to learn to be a "lady." While she desperately misses her comrades and especially her fiance, and the open sea, orphan and former street urchin Jacky is keen to become a proper lady though there is just so much spunk in her she has a difficult time sticking to embroidery and learning to manage household budgets. But her spirit pours from a very kind heart and even though she gets herself in a number of troublesome situations, she somehow manages to pull through them with courage and goodwill--until it seems that she may finally have met her match in Rev. Mather who, she believes, murdered a poor servant girl some years ago but was never brought to justice. Jacky must strive to get him that justice while avoiding his noose!**************************************************************************Jacky Faber is my latest companion for the commute (too bad she won't count for the carpool lane, haha!) and what a delight she is! I got this out from the library after hearing all the awards the audiobook version won, though I didn't realize until after I'd got it that it is actually the second book in a series. No matter, this one sounds more my cup of tea than the first and Jacky is such an engaging character I feel that I am totally involved in her life already! :-)
Audiobook. In the tradition of Pipi Longstocking and Anne of Green Gables, Jackie Faber is the newest and best girl role model for young teens. Brave, honest, loyal, interested in bettering herself through education, but understanding her flaws, including acting without thinking and craving the limelight, Jackie is the girl we all want to be. In this second installment of the Bloody Jack series, Jackie, the poor orphan from the London streets who signed onto a British warship as a ships boy has been uncovered as a girl. She is let off the ship with her prize winnings and installed at the Lawson Peabody School for Girls in Boston. Anyone who knows Boston and its history will follow Jackie’s tromps through the historic city of 1805 with pleasure and recognition. As she struggles to become a lady, sidetracked somewhat by a demotion to servant girl and tavern entertainer, she works tirelessly to make her way in a city that frowns on eccentricity. Along the way she earns the admiration of friends in both high and low stations, rides a racehorse and helps solve a dastardly murder.The audiobooks of Bloody Jack series are read by Katherine Kellgren who brings Jackie to life. The magic of listening to Jackie’s Cheapside accent as she recounts her thoughts and actions in breathless gasps or moans at her own folly is untouchable. I’ve never heard an audiobook live before your eyes as these do. They are a great way to bring the adventure of reading to a young non-reader or for an adult to immerse themselves in the past through Jackie’s eyes.These books will be classics. Not only do they provide fantastic lessons in how to get along in life, make friends and deal with adversity, but they bring the past to life in a very detailed and remarkable way.
What do You think about Curse Of The Blue Tattoo: Being An Account Of The Misadventures Of Jacky Faber, Midshipman And Fine Lady (2011)?
I'm so glad you liked it. The audiobooks truly make the story. I find that I enjoy all of the slight "forgivings" I need to give to the Bloody Jack books... because if these books were less like the tall tales they are, I wouldn't like them as much.
—Jess
I really did not enjoy this. Although it did have parts that made me smile, Jacky is just too impulsive, thoughtless and down-right annoying for me to take right now. I honestly got stressed out reading this. Meyer might have created a wonderful character, and I do understand her making mistakes because of sheer ignorance, but does she need to be downright stupid to make that point? No she does not. There are even parts where Jacky comes across as mature for her age and fairly intelligent, so why are we forced to suffer through so much idiocy? No wonder I stopped reading this series after this book when I was a teen! While fairly annoyed, I will press on and read at least one more volume before I give up on the series as a whole. With thousands of positive reviews out there, there has got to be something redeeming in the series!
—Lady Knight
Curse of the Blue Tattoo was a fast pace book that was full of adventure. This book was not only told the reader about Jacky’s adventures but also gave a good sense of background, more specifically, what Boston was like at that time. I liked this book in many other ways then just how much background there is in this novel. Such as I liked that Jacky just wants to be good, and yet, she always finds herself getting in trouble,and no matter how bad the situation is she always seems to be able to get out of it reasonably unscathed, with a little help of course. But there were some minor draw backs that I did not particularly enjoy in this novel. For example, at the end of the book it sort of seem like the author did not put much thought into the book, like I would have enjoyed if I knew who the police would have blamed for the incident and what punishment he or she would get? I know Jacky was sure it would be her that would be punished but what if she stayed to find out? Overall, I think L.A. Meyer has written a great sequel to her first book Bloody Jack.
—Tate Taczak
