Sunday, March 11, 2018

Seven YA novels featuring fierce female pirates

At the BN Teen Blog, Nicole Brinkley tagged seven YA novels that feature powerful lady pirates, including:
The Unbinding of Mary Reade, by Miriam McNamara

Want a story about queer lady pirates based on young Anne Bonny and Calico Jack? Because Miriam McNamara has you covered. Mary’s profession as a hired sailor depends on her ability to disguise the fact that she’s female, but when pirates attack her ship, Mary spots something new: a girl pirate, powerful and unafraid. And so Mary decides to turn the gun on her own captain, earning a spot among the pirates. The fact that I don’t yet possess The Unbinding of Mary Reade—which, readers should note, depicts true pirate history with all its sexism, homophobia, and sexual assault intact—is a calamity. Canonically queer pirate girls? Yes, please.
Read about another entry on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue