The Dagger X | homeschoolbookreviewblog
HOME SCHOOL BOOK REVIEW
Book:The Dagger X
Author: Brian Eames
Illustrators: Scott M. Fischer, Amy June Bates, and Drew Willis
Publisher: Simon and Schuster/Paula Wiseman Books, 2013
ISBN-13: 978-1442468559 Hardcover
ISBN-10: 1442468556 Hardcover
ISBN-13: 978-1442468566 Paperback
ISBN-10: 1442468564 Paperback
Website(s): http://www.brianeames.com (author), http://www.KIDS.SjmolnandSchuster.com (publisher)
Language level: 3
(1=nothing objectionable; 2=common euphemisms and/or childish slang terms; 3=some cursing and/or profanity; 4=a lot of cursing and/or profanity; 5=obscenity and/or vulgarity)
Recommended reading level: Ages 8-12
Rating: **** 4 stars
(5 stars=EXCELLENT; 4 stars=GOOD; 3 stars=FAIR; 2 stars=POOR; 1 star=VERY POOR; no stars=NOT RECOMMENDED)
Category: Historical fiction
Reviewed by Wayne S. Walker
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Eames, Brian. The Dagger X (Published in 2013 by Paula Wiseman Books, an imprint of Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, a division of Simon and Schuster Children’s Publishing, a trademark of Simon and Schuster Inc., 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New Yprk City, NY 10020). On the high seas of the Caribbean in the late 1600s, a twelve-year-old boy, Christopher (Kitto) Quick who was born with a club foot, stands wrongly accused of his father’s murder and is forced into adulthood too quickly as he tries to prove his innocence. After a brutal shark attack by which he loses his bad foot, Kitto must take refuge on a forsaken Carribbean island with his stepmother Sarah, friend Van, a Wampanoag Indian girl Ontoquas, and an African baby rescued during their escape from a slave-trading ship. The holds a store of valuable nutmeg, with its power to make men as rich as kings. Kitto also discovers that a cave on the island holds the large treasure that his uncle William Quick had been planning to recover when his ship was attacked by pirates under the command of the vengeful Captain John Morris.
When another group of pirates led by the notorious Alexandre Exquemelin, known as X, arrives, the ragtag group decides to join forces to outwit Morris, escape the island, and try to find Kitto’s younger brother Elias, known as Duck, and uncle. What dark secret about his own past and identity does Kitto discover? Will the events of Kitto’s past determine his fate, or will he have the courage to forge his own destiny? And can they find the brother and uncle? Kitto’s adventure continues in the suspenseful sequel to The Dagger Quick. As to language, the “d” and “h” words are used a few times, and the terms “God” and “Lord” are found occasionally as interjections. There is some discussion about the existence of God. Otherwise, those who enjoy exciting adventure tales of friends and fiends, good and evil, pirates and predators, and the thrill of the high seas, will like The Dagger X with its classic story of the search for manhood and identity. I think that some things would have made more sense if I had read The Dagger Quick first, but there were enough flashbacks to provide an understanding of the background. It was a very easy read with a lot of suspense and excitement.
