Bloody Jack

By: L. A. Meyer

Narrated by: Katherine Kellgren

Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Life as a ship's boy aboard HMS Dolphin is a dream come true for Jacky Faber. Gone are the days of scavenging for food and fighting for survival on the streets of 18th-century London. Instead, Jacky is becoming a skilled and respected sailor as the crew pursues pirates on the high seas. There's only one problem: Jacky is a girl. And she will have to use every bit of her spirit, wit, and courage to keep the crew from discovering her secret. This could be the adventure of her life...if only she doesn't get caught.

Listen to the sequel, Curse of the Blue Tattoo.

©2003 L.A. Meyer (P)2007 Listen and Live Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Winner, Children's Titles - Ages 12+, 2008

One of the most amazing series.

This is by far one of the most amazing series I have ever come across. The adventures she goes on are light hearted and full of action and adventure. These are the type of books that will leave you smiling and wanting more at the end of each one. Please don't miss out. It's worth it.

Great story and great narration

I downloaded this book for shear curiosity. I wasn't expecting much, but was pleasantly surprised and thoroughly entertained by the book and also by the amazing job of the narrator Katherine Kellgren. She is amazing and totally brings the book to life. Of all the audio books I have downloaded this book and the other books in the Bloody Jack series have been the best. I have been listening to all the Bloody Jack books and have loved them all so far, I am in the middle of the 3rd book now and am looking forward to hearing the rest. Great job.

Much better than I had expected

I now want a sequel. I enjoyed the story and the performance - well done all around.

Great story and performance

Very enjoyable book. I just wish it had a part 2 so I could continue listening.

Good story made better by a GREAT reader!

Meyer's characters are well developed and the story has more depth than is typical for books targeting this age group. This engaging book is alternately dark, hillarious, frightening, and heroic, but it is the vivid characterizations provided by Kellgren that makes the story live. Few readers do as well as Kellgren with a wide range of accents and other vocal cues to help listeners immediately identify a large cast of characters, but none that I've heard also bring the breadth of emotion she does. She'll make you gasp, then weep, then cheer, then laugh out loud.

Swashbuckling, adventurous fun.

What did you love best about Bloody Jack?

The main character is a gutsy girl, orphaned at a young age, who maintains her defiance and sense of adventure while masquerading as a male deckhand on a pirate ship. It's good pirate fun a girl who refuses to conform to anyone's image of who she should be other than her own.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Bloody Jack?

My favorite sequence was the 'lost on a deserted island' adventures.

Love this story!!

It's exciting, dangerous and has unexpected twists. Plus, the narrators's performance is a delight. Highly recommend it.

Great Listening

I loved this story (also the second one) and am looking forward to hearing all of this series. The action is ongoing, and Jackie, the main character, is charming. The reader, Katherine Kellgren, is fabulous. She uses a wonderful cockney accent that definitely enhanced my listening experience. I would strongly recommend this book.

Listened to the whole series. Hate for it to end.

Where does Bloody Jack rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

The stories are really good. The narration is simply fabulous. This is one of the few series I have bothered to review. But I thought this was such a great series and especially such wonderful narration that I felt like I needed to review it.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed a lot. Unusual for me. It takes quite a bit for a story to make me laugh out loud.

Any additional comments?

Highly recommend all 10 books. You need to listen to them in order.

Fun listen!

This book is a joy. May be a bit young for fussy readers, however, Katherine Kellgren brings this book and Bloody Jack to life. I can't say now many smiles and chuckles it brought me. I recommend this book highly and hope Katherine becomes a very rich woman because of this performance.