What would you do if you had a dinosaur army, a spaceship, and the ability to travel through time? If you happened to be a beautiful but cruel villainess, you would probably take over the world. Or she would, if Pirate Perdita wasn’t there to steal her zombie-making jewel. Now if only Perdita hadn’t been kidnapped. Of course Mr. Ii, Perdita’s first prisoner, is trying to get her back. And eleven year old Leander Jack? He’s just trying not to die.
Adventure awaits in this multi-dimensional story, with dinosaurs, pirates, zombies, time ships, space ships, and at the center, a jewel. Will Pirate Perdita steal the Star of Bokor? Will Leander Jack be eaten by bambiraptors? Will the prisoner Mr. Ii ever escape? And will the zombie dinosaurs take over Earth, or will the band of pirates save the day?
My Review
I was given this book by the author in exchange for a fair review.
What can I say about Pirate Perdita … There were elements of this book that I really liked. First and foremost, it was well written. It was action packed and the adventure never stopped. The characters were likeable and there was a fair dose of humor induced scenes. However, character development was a bit … flat. While I liked Leander Jack, I felt he was under developed as a character (and as readers of my reviews will know, character development is everything for me).
In addition, the time travel doesn’t really make good sense to the reader. Rewind a hundred and thirty years plus two days … there was a bit too much of that. Simply writing “travel to 1848” would have been far easier to follow (although perhaps a bit difficult when dealing with jurassic time periods).
I do realize that this book is aimed at a younger audience. But I think we have to be careful not to under estimate our young readers. Grade 4 level doesn’t mean the reader isn’t interested in a plot line that makes good sense or character whom they can relate to.
The reader never does find out why Pirate Perdita is “parentless” and gallivanting around the universe with her “prisoner” Mr. Ii. A bit more back story would have made understanding our heroine’s motives easier.
Overall, this was an entertaining read. If you have younger readers who love adventure, you might check it out.
