A High Wind in Jamaica: Or, the Innocent Voyage

I didn't like this. For a book that was less than 200 pages, it felt like a slog. Lots of undertones of colonialism in the West Indies/Jamaica, and when one of the little girls describes the death of her beloved cat during an earthquake as sadder than the death of the black man who worked in their home ... that did not sit well with me at all.

Plus, I admittedly don't know much about child development, but I'm pretty sure if you're a 10 year old kid and your older brother just up and disappears, you'd notice??? I kept feeling like attributes were laid on these kids that wouldn't have been likely, and most of the things they did that were irritating to the adults were mainly annoying because they were on a boat unsupervised and not knowing what to do with that and trying to ingratiate themselves with the only adults around, who just so happened to be pirates.

I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. I kept wanting to shout “WHERE ARE YOUR PARENTS.”