UNDER THE JOLLY ROGER

The third installment—“and the Dear knows”—of Jacky Faber, now back in England and pressed into ship service despite being all girl and all of 15. But plucky, smart and like all real heroes, good at everything she puts her hand to, Jacky ends up with her own ship, out of the clutches of an evil captain, and with a crew as loyal as could be. In the early years of the 19th-century she makes a fine living as a privateer, founds an orphanage in tribute to her own roots and locates her maternal grandfather. The climactic battle of 1805 with Lord Nelson at Trafalgar is where Jacky escapes being tried as a pirate. All this is told in her own voice, in a perfect homage to Patrick O’Brian’s wondrous nautical tales, (“Not a moment to lose!” is even quoted) carefully fitted for a spirited girl. There are kisses, lost love, lessons in sailing, decorum and leadership, even a Jeeves/Bunter/Killick figure, all recounted with panache in the most rousing and rollicking way. “With the blessing,” the next Jacky adventure will come along soon. (Fiction. YA)