L. A. MEYER received a master of fine arts from Boston University, and is currently the curator and exhibitor at the Clair de Loon Gallery in Bar Harbor, Maine. He lives in Corea, Maine.
The tale of Mary, an 18th-century London street urchin who dresses as a boy, renames herself "Jacky" and goes to sea as a ship's boy, soars to new heights in the audio format. Mary's distinctive Cockney dialect is tailor-made for reading aloud. And with award-winning narrator Kellgren at the helm, the result is pure magic. She creates authentic character voices, switching effortlessly among Mary's Cockney, the melodic Irish lilt of sailor Liam, the educated American voice of schoolmaster Tilden, the chillingly sinister, leering tone of Jacob Sloat and many other voices without missing a beat. Her acting is also first-rate: her tone of pride as Mary boasts of her achievements, her tenderness as she speaks of Jaimy, the boy she secretly falls in love with, and the sheer terror in her voice during scenes of violence and danger will have listeners on the edge of their seats. For tweens and teens caught up in this summer's Pirate Fever, Bloody Jack is the perfect audiobook to make those long family car trips fly by. Ages 12-up. (May) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
Gr 6 Up-Katherine Kellgren performs L. A. Meyer's critically acclaimed and popular novel (Harcourt, 2002) with verve and engaging style. Mary "Jacky" Faber, orphaned by the plague in late 18th-century London, goes to sea disguised as a boy. Meyer's knowledge of maritime history as well as young adolescent psychology imbues this adventure story with authentic detail. As Jack, the story's heroine experiences adventures both swashbuckling and romantic: knife fights, pirates, the need to hide her true identity even when nature would out her, and first love. Kellgren provides the characters with spot-on accents and voices, bringing to life each of the ship's boys, the members of the crew (including the gentle, the sophisticated, and the crude), street ruffians, and locals in various foreign ports of call. This is perfect historical fiction and in audiobook format the sounds of the period and place ring true and clear. This title belongs in schools, in public library collections, and in family cars where teens and adults will enjoy listening together.-Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.
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