00013404

Fish, as he is called due to his love of being in the water, is sent from his family's farmstead after the death of their horse, to try to earn some money living with a merchant uncle in the city. In no time at all, he is abducted by the crew of a pirate ship and sailing on the open sea. This band of pirates is a bit different from most in tales though. Although some of them are ruthless cutthroats, the captain himself isn't fond of violence, is intelligent, and fancies himself more of a treasure hunter than a marauder. In addition to two other boys on the ship Fish's age, the ship's cook is a 13-year-old girl. (Although the reader will likely have fleeting thoughts about the likely horrid outcome of a 13-year-old girl being on board a ship full of pirates in the days of yore, this is a book for a middle grade audience, and you'll quickly forget those dreadful thoughts, as robbery and murder seem to be the only crimes that interest even the worst of the pirates. Nora's virtue is quite safe.) Captain Cobb is searching for a legendary golden chain, so long it wraps an entire city. Some of his crew goes along with his treasure hunting fantasies, while others would rather just pillage any ship they happen upon and forget legendary gold. Fish however, is quickly caught up in the captain's fantasies, and a bond of friendship is formed between Fish, the other three youths on board, the captian, and few of the less reprehensible crew members.
Meanwhile, the legendary golden chain is also being sought by a far more ruthless treasure hunter, who is discretely following our band of pirates. ( )

Eleven year old Maurice Reidy lived in a large family on a farm where everyone worked throughout the day. Fish wasn’t very good at doing the job, his siblings did twice as much work each day than he does. One day, when they were playing and bathing in a pond, two of Maurice’s siblings got into a fight. He tried to stop them, but they threw him into the deep end of the pond. No one can swim in the Reidy family, so Maurice thought that he was going to drown. But a kick of his legs and a push of his arms brought Maurice to the surface, meaning that he could swim! That’s when he got his nickname: Fish. A couple of days later, their horse died, and Fish had to go into the city to work and provide money for the family. At his new job in the city, he was a messenger, running errands. One day, he had to deliver a specifically important pouch of gold coins to a ship. He was robbed by a pirate on the way there, so he went after him on their pirate ship. Since he could swim, he just swam right on over to the ship and confronted the pirates, which did not succeed. They forced him to work on the decks. One day, though, they announced that they will be raiding a ship. Once they came close enough to the ship, Fish could see that it was the ship he was supposed to deliver the coins to! When the pirates were busy attacking, he quickly stole the coins from the captains cabin, and went to deliver them secretly. He was stopped though by the pirate captain. Later, Fish was interrogated by the captain, and he explained that the pirates are looking for the Chain of Chuacar which if they found, it would be worth a fortune. Fish decided that he would find this chain, and send home the fortune he would get, so he joined the pirates. Harrowing days and nights eventually proved that the coins made a message: degrees for latitude and longitude. They had an idea where the chain was! They made a pit stop at Turtle Island where they learned that the first mate and some others were planning a mutiny. After they departed Turtle Island, they headed straight for the place where the chain was supposed to be. When they got there, the first mate truly did start a mutiny, but failed in the end when Fish and the others found the chain.

This book was chewed through in one day. It was one of the more interesting books that I’ve read. Fast-paced, mystery, and action is what I look for in books, and this was the perfect example. I loved how the author made a not so interesting concept like pirates into an edge of your seat book. Fish easily made my day when he accepted being a pirate, it changed the entire view on the book. The pirates were now the “good guys” instead of the “bad guys.” Fish is probably one of the top three books I have ever read! I rate this book a 5 out of 5 (6 out of 5 if I wanted to!). ( )

Eleven year old Maurice Reidy lived in a large family on a farm where everyone worked throughout the day. Fish wasn’t very good at doing the job, his siblings did twice as much work each day than he does. One day, when they were playing and bathing in a pond, two of Maurice’s siblings got into a fight. He tried to stop them, but they threw him into the deep end of the pond. No one can swim in the Reidy family, so Maurice thought that he was going to drown. But a kick of his legs and a push of his arms brought Maurice to the surface, meaning that he could swim! That’s when he got his nickname: Fish. A couple of days later, their horse died, and Fish had to go into the city to work and provide money for the family. At his new job in the city, he was a messenger, running errands. One day, he had to deliver a specifically important pouch of gold coins to a ship. He was robbed by a pirate on the way there, so he went after him on their pirate ship. Since he could swim, he just swam right on over to the ship and confronted the pirates, which did not succeed. They forced him to work on the decks. One day, though, they announced that they will be raiding a ship. Once they came close enough to the ship, Fish could see that it was the ship he was supposed to deliver the coins to! When the pirates were busy attacking, he quickly stole the coins from the captains cabin, and went to deliver them secretly. He was stopped though by the pirate captain. Later, Fish was interrogated by the captain, and he explained that the pirates are looking for the Chain of Chuacar which if they found, it would be worth a fortune. Fish decided that he would find this chain, and send home the fortune he would get, so he joined the pirates. Harrowing days and nights eventually proved that the coins made a message: degrees for latitude and longitude. They had an idea where the chain was! They made a pit stop at Turtle Island where they learned that the first mate and some others were planning a mutiny. After they departed Turtle Island, they headed straight for the place where the chain was supposed to be. When they got there, the first mate truly did start a mutiny, but failed in the end when Fish and the others found the chain.

This book was chewed through in one day. It was one of the more interesting books that I’ve read. Fast-paced, mystery, and action is what I look for in books, and this was the perfect example. I loved how the author made a not so interesting concept like pirates into an edge of your seat book. Fish easily made my day when he accepted being a pirate, it changed the entire view on the book. The pirates were now the “good guys” instead of the “bad guys.” Fish is probably one of the top three books I have ever read! I rate this book a 5 out of 5 (6 out of 5 is I wanted to!). ( )

The exciting adventure of a resourceful boy who discovers his hidden gift as a fortune-hunting pirate

Fish--nicknamed for his incredible swimming abilities--is a twelve-year-old boy from a poor farming family. After taking a job as a courier for his uncle, Fish is waylaid by pirates, who steal the package he's carrying. He soon learns that it's the key to locating the Chain

I think that this book is good for pirate lovers and like adventure books.