A daring mission, a sister turned pirate and a sea full of secrets…
In a world of water where land is a legend, 11-year-old Kittiwake Stormhaven dreams of adventure aboard the Amazon Princess. When a vital mission takes the ship into dangerous waters, Kittiwake discovers shocking news - her long-lost sister, Petrel, is now a feared pirate queen.
Kittiwake must outsmart pirates, outmanoeuvre storms and face ghostly captains to save her ship, her mischievous monkey Caboodle and her friends. But in a high-stakes showdown, family loyalty collides with survival, and Kittiwake learns the ocean hides more secrets than she ever imagined.
Kittiwake Stormhaven is a fast-paced, sea-swept adventure filled with daring rescues, thrilling discoveries and the magic of friendship.
Kittiwake Stormhaven and the Pirate’s Portolano may be aimed at ages 8 to 12 but I'm in my fifties and I loved it. It is beautifully written by Victoria Williamson and accompanied by exquisite illustrations by James Brown.
I loved the all of the wonderfully drawn characters that were brought to life through the very descriptive and entertaining writing. Kittiwake, her monkey Caboodle (Boo) and her very funny friend Scallion (Scally) who hilariously gets his words wrong were my favourites but I also loved her pirate sister Petrel and Madame Wurzelwick the cook. With Kittiwake's sister and mother both being captains of their own ships, it's a very refreshing change to have females in a traditionally male-dominated role.
Scally gives Kittiwake a pirate's portolano for her birthday which holds all the secrets to life as a pirate. There are excerpts from the portolano throughout the book that makes the reader feel part of the story as well as being incredibly entertaining and imaginative. When a sea-wide shortage of fuel leads the Amazon Princess into dangerous territory, the pirate's portolano comes in very useful in the race to locate more Marinium.
Very fast-paced and impossible to put down, Kittiwake Stormhaven and the Pirate’s Portolano is a swashbuckling adventure on the high seas filled with danger and skulduggery. I enjoyed it so much that I plan to read it again and would highly recommend it to readers from 8 to 80.
I received a gifted paperback for The Write Reads blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.
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About the author:
Victoria Williamson is an award-winning author from Glasgow, Scotland, who loved reading books and writing adventure stories from an early age. After studying Physics at the University of Glasgow, she set out on her own real-life adventures, which included teaching maths and science in Cameroon, training teachers in Malawi, teaching English in China and working with children with additional support needs in the UK.
Her previous novels include The Fox Girl and the White Gazelle, The Boy with the Butterfly Mind, Hag Storm, War of the Wind, The Pawnshop of Stolen Dreams, Norah’s Ark, The Whistlers in the Dark, Feast of Ashes, and Skyfleet: March of the Mutabugs. Her books have won the RED Book Award 2024, YA-aldi Glasgow Secondary School Libraries Book Award 2023 and the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2020/2021, and have been short-listed and long-listed for numerous other awards. War of the Wind and Norah’s Ark were also both nominated for the 2024 Yoto Carnegie Medals.
Victoria writes and edits Key Stage 2 books for the education company Twinkl. She spends the rest of her time writing novels and visiting schools, libraries and literary festivals to give author talks and run creative writing workshops. Her latest novel, Kittiwake Stormhaven and the Pirate’s Portolano, channels her love of pirates and swashbuckling adventure to create a steampunk world set on the seven seas, and is illustrated by the very talented James Brown.
You can find out more about Victoria’s books, school visits and free resources for schools on her website: www.strangelymagical.com
Instagram: @strangelymagicalbooks
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