Shelly's Book Blog

Perusing people's comments about Charles Boardman Hawes' Newbery Medal winner, The Dark Frigate, posted on Goodreads, I was gratified to learn that I was not alone in having difficulty finishing this book. The arcane language, which is full of "thee's" and "thou's" and "quoth he's," made me feel as though I was reading Melville instead of a children's book. The story was actually quite interesting for me, as I enjoy reading about seafaring adventures and pirates. I also relished the quiet menace with which Hawes so subtly infuses his villain, the pirate captain Tom Jordan. Jordan is usually referred to as "the Old One" in the book, and he does seem to exude both the wisdom and cynicism that old age can bring. He is truly terrifying. I doubt if I will be recommending this book to kids, though, unless they are intent on challenging themselves with something completely different than they've read before.