3.5 Stars
This was super fun, I look forward to reading more in the series. It's neat seeing an experienced but still witty Jack Sparrow. However the random drop of Jack discovering electricity?????

This is the first book in a lengthy series of adolescent adventure novels about the youth of the infamous Captain Jack Sparrow of the Pirates of the Caribbean Movie montage. The author writes with his young want-to-be swashbucklers in mind as he uses this book to introduce Jack and his crew of desperadoes that are fleeing their own complicated childhoods.

Rob Kidd skillfully uses a hook at the end of each chapter to draw his young audience into the next chapter to whet their desire to read on. “Arabella kept a very firm grip on Jack’s collar as she pulled him quickly through the crowd, ducking and avoiding the brawling sailors. And Jack kept a very firm grip on the sack. His sack. After a few more near misses, Jack and Arabella staggered out the back door and into the stormy tropical night” (Kidd 17). Kidd writes just enough of a hook to make my children beg for one more chapter. Even though I know that this series if just another Disney crank it out and sell it while the product subject is hot, my boys loved the series. As a writer, I can learn to write a good hook to entice my readers to read on just like Rob Kidd does at the end of each chapter. This series is a fun read. My only complaint is the continual alcohol references.

this book is the start of a long series and describes jacks life and the start of his adventure.

Read this to my son, dissapointing even to him

Very short but fun read! Characters aren’t well developed and it’s only lightly sprinkled with humour, definitely for young kids but didn’t diminish my enjoyment too much - might be a nostalgia factor at play there.

An interesting look at Jack Sparrow before he became the pirate we all know and love from the movies. The story had a lot of action and adventure for so few pages and I LOVED that one of the main characters was a girl! I don't think I will continue with the other books in the series but these are excellent stories for young readers.

A cute little pre-POTC story. A quick read that was pretty enjoyable. I would have loved it as a kid.

The audiobook for this in German is so good. Well done to the narrator.

Singura chestie nașpa e că a fost prea scurtă

Gotta love a good children’s book every once in a while, and I must say that this was enjoyable enough that I’ll continue reading the series! Joyful and captivating, this story really gives an insight into the youthful days of Captain Jack Sparrow, and is packed full of references from the movies, including Davy Jones and Tia Dalma! Very fun; would definitely recommend.

A fun quick read, and a must if you are a fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean saga. Will definitely pick up the other books in the series

1. How did you feel about the setting? The settings were reminiscent of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies by Disney, which they were meant to. Those of us adults who have seen and loved the movies are immediately captured by the sentiment of knowing exactly what is being described. However, I'm not sure that kids who are not allowed to watch the Pirates of the Caribbean movies would really have understood about Tortuga or the magical elements that series makes use of.
2. What do potential readers need to know most about the main character? Likewise, those kids who didn't already know and love Captain Jack wouldn't really understand and most likely not love this young man's witty and sarcastic character just from this book. I enjoyed learning about how Jack became “Captain Jack Sparrow.” But I wanted the story from his perspective. The first chapter is from the perspective of an unknown character, Arabella, a barmaid in her father's tavern in Tortuga. I didn't care about her or her perspective. And then it switches from Arabella's to the third person to almost Jack's perspective, head-hopping from a range. I wanted more of Jack's perspective, especially since the first page after the title page (and the last page after the last chapter) is in a piratey script and from Jack's perspective as a diary, which as both a visual artist, an author, and a fan of the movies, I loved! I wish they would have kept the perspective the same.
3. Which supporting character caught your interest the most? I guess Arabella, because we get her perspective the most when it's not third person, and because she's the only female character. I didn't relate to any of the others, Fitz, Jean, or Tumen.
4. What journey do the main characters take? The journey is a literal voyage from Tortuga to the Isle of Esqueletica on a search for the fabled Sword of Cortes.
5. How is the writing style or quality of the writing?
6. Is there humor in the book?
7. For whom would you recommend this book?
9. Who will not like this book?
10. Why did you give it the star rating you did? It was entertaining after the fifth chapter, but disappointing in a few areas.