The Pirate Vortex

The Pirate Vortex : Elizabeth Latimer, Pirate Hunter

Deborah Cannon / Young Adult

Teen fencing champ, Elizabeth Latimer, is a girl of her times. Armed with the latest palm computer, she leaps into an oceanic vortex in pursuit of Daniel, an oh-so-awesome pirate. He knows the whereabouts of her missing marine archaeologist mom, but instead of reuniting them, he leads her into an impossible mission—to help the pirate Calico Jack Rackham rescue his girlfriend Anne Bonny. Anne is being held captive by the Governor of the Bahamas. Elizabeth is identical in looks to Anne, and when she emerges from the vortex onto Rackham’s boat and tells him she’s his descendant from the 21st century, he roars “witch!” In a world where men solve their problems by running a foot of steel into their enemies’ guts, Elizabeth has only two weapons at her disposal—her fencing skill and her palm-sized computer with which she stays in touch with her sister Lulu. But the Universe has its rules—and she is tied by two of them. Number one, she can’t reveal modern technology to the pirates. Number two, she can’t kill anyone. If she breaks either of these rules, she’ll change history and alter the future. Worst case scenario? Liz and her family will cease to exist!

(Click on the title to read what I felt about it)


I eagerly waited for this book to arrive in my mail (I watched  the mailbox like a hawk) and after reading only the first few pages I knew it had been worth the wait. This book was EXTREMELY funny and kept me entertained  clear up until the end. In fact when I finished it my first thought was to ask the author whether my book had missing pages and then to check online to see if the next book was out yet. I don't remember ever reading a book with pirates in it before but it didn't take long before I realized I needed to make room among my book crushes for them. I LOVE pirates and couldn't get enough of them.

There were so many interesting characters in this book that really contributed to the feel of the story but to me three really STOOD out. First there was Liz, this sassy and opinionated girl who when faced with the disappearance of her mother jumps feet first into trouble and THRIVES. When she finds herself in the past with really no idea where to start, she takes charge of the situation and I LOVED watching her take on the mannerisms of the pirates she found herself surrounded by. She goes from a relatively normal modern day girl to one who without pausing (or batting an eye) threatens "Come any closer and I will slice you in half and show you the color of your insides" She fit right in and was ALOT of fun to read. Of course, every story there has to be a guy and although there were two in this story (a quick shout out to Wang) my attention was forever on Daniel, "the man-boy wannabe pirate" as Liz affectionately called him. He is EVERYTHING mysterious and he doesn't give very much information about himself away. Whether I was sighing over his pirate appearance and cocky two finger salute or laughing at his sarcastic conversations with Liz, I was going from moment to moment wondering "Who is this Daniel Corker guy?" Just when you think you know and think Liz will get him to answer her questions, he'd be wearing that  grin of his and evade. IT DROVE ME NUTS but had me on the edge of my seat because honestly, who deoesn't find a mysterious bad boy HOT!!  But, the third character who I felt STOLE the show and had me laughing the hardest was none other than Liz's parrot CJ !! My gosh it was the most sarcastic, quick witted, wise cracking bird I've ever seen. Whether he was squawking out loud or sharing a telepathic path with Liz, CJ was always there in every situation adding his two cents worth and as the story went on began speaking more like a pirate than the pirates were. HILARIOUS !!

There were alot of neat things about the storyline that I liked but there was one thing that really made me smile and although it was a little something added, I laughed everytime it happened. I am a confessed textaholic. Even when I'm sleeping, my thumbs are poised, ready at a moment's notice to quickly send a message to my BFF. I kid you not on my last cell phone bill, I saw I had put my poor Android through over 15000 text messages that month (that's sending and receiving) and so when I saw the author had added one of my favorite "hobbies" to her book, I LOVED IT !! When Liz goes back in time, she takes with her her iPhone and I kid you not, she sits there and texts her sister whose waiting back in the 21st century. My first thought was "Wishful thinking kid, good luck with that" and the next was disbelief when she received a text BACK!! Putting aside the following thoughts of "Hang on, that's impossible", as I continued to read I was able to relax and open myself up to all the possibilities that can happen when you mix the imagination with the every day things we have around us. It got me excited because I could identify with Liz in those moments when she was unsure and she'd whip that iPhone out and shoot out a text. It connected me with her and pulled me into the book. I felt like I was there on the ship with her as she fought and talked her way into situations as she tried to save her friends and herself. I wasn't sitting on my bed, holding a book and looking at words on the page. That was one of the things I liked most about the book and why I found myself not wanting to put it down. This was an extremely entertaining book and without spoiling anything, you really don't want to miss the ending because if you're anything like me, you'll be left sitting straight as a board where you're sitting, gripping the book tightly, screaming "Whaaaatttt there has to be more" It was a great first book and I can't wait to see what happens next.