Pirate Curse, by Kai Miller

Review by, Jenna Johnson
Pirate Curse is an exciting book filled with pirates, monsters, and evil forces. This book alternates passages narrated by 14-year old Jolly and Monk. Jolly is a polliwog, or a person that can walk on water, and is a pirate. She and Monk are joined together to save the world from an evil force called Maelstrom. The books shows how Jolly and Monk start a friendship that will last a life time and meet extraordinary people on the way.

One of the most interesting things in this book is the pirate ship battles. It's interesting because you see how the battles were in the old days and how entertaining it is. In my opinion this book is a must-read book. I say this because once you start this book you will never put it down.

Stowaway, by Karen Hesse

Review by, Trevor Stoimenoff
Stowaway is an exciting tale of a ship full of sailors traveling by ocean around the world, to find an unkown continent. Set in the 1700's, the crew faces difficulties with the ship, the crew and nature itself. A young boy, who paid three other sailors to get him on the ship, hides on the ship all the while.
This story is focused on him, and from his point of view. Stowaway is an exciting story of courage, perserverance and friendship. The author really gets the point that working together is very important.
My favorite sections of the book are when the crew meets island natives. Some may be friendly, but most are deceiving thieves. The natives all trade with the sailors, but everyone wants something different. In my opinion, this book starts of out slow and boring, but as the ship traverses farther and farther it gets better and better.
The unique journal format makes this book interesting, and far more intriguing than most books. I say this because when you are reading a book, the format is always the same, normal format. Variety is the virtue of life, and this book is choc-full of it!