She can tread water for 37 minutes. She owns and operates a very pointy sword. She can tie every knot that has ever been invented.
"A scroll of paper flew out of the open desk and sailed over Admiral Westfield's head. 'Magic,' cried Admiral Westfield 'And thievery to boot. And what use is that blasted gargoyle? He's supposed to protect us. How the Westfields got stuck with the most useless piece of magic in the kingdom, I'll never know.'"
Then turning to his daughter, Hilary, he added, "' Terribly sorry you had to witness all this, my dear. Getting mixed up with magic hardly imporves a young lady's reputation. You'd better hurry back to your room at once while I sort out this mess.'"
Hurry back to her room? Worry about her reputation? Hilary Westfield intends to be a great many things but a good little girl is not one of them.
Hilary Westfield has her mind made up. She is going to be a pirate. Her letters to the Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates are unfortunately rejected by the scallywags and it appears she has no choice but to follow her parent's plan. Her father, Admiral Westfield, and her mother, a High Society lady, have decided to send Hilary to a finishing school for girls: Miss Pimm's School to be exact.
So, packing her talking gargoyle, the family's bit of apparently useless magic, in her bag, Hilary sets off on the train with a plan to escape and pursue piracy at the first opportunity. What unfolds is an adventure to remember filled with grog swilling pirates, governesses with unexpected talents, a school for girls with a few classes parents don't know about and some secrets to be discovered. A story of betrayal, magical powers and the wonder of finding treasure in your own world.
978-0062194343 Ages 8-11 366 pages
Read alikes: HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON series by Cressida Cowell; Audacity Jones to the Rescue by Kirby Larson;
Sequels: Terror of the Southlands; Buccaneer's Code
Recommended by: Barb
