Review – Lintang and the Pirate Queen (Lintang, Book 1) by Tamara Moss (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 368 pages
Publisher: Clarion Books
Release Date: October 15, 2019
ISBN-13: 978-1328460301
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in the Lintang series
Source: ARC from Amazon Vine
Rating: 4/5 stars
“Lintang dreams of escaping her island home and having adventures on the high seas. She gets her chance when she and her best friend, Bayani, face a deadly mythie and survive, attracting the attention of the infamous Captain Shafira. Lintang’s bravery earns her an invitation onto the ship of the pirate queen, who is on her way to hunt down a nest of vicious sirens.
But they’ve barely left the island when Lintang discovers that Bayani has risked his life to stow away. Worse, he won’t tell her why. Lintang must choose whether to be loyal to Captain Shafira and continue with her adventures, or be loyal to her best friend and lose everything she’s ever wanted.”
Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Lintang series. I got an ARC of this book from Amazon Vine to review.
Story (4/5): This was a well done story with a lot of adventure. Lintang desperately wants to leave her home island and join Captain Shafira on her ship. When Lintang gets her wish, she ends up knee deep in the mythology of her world and the mystery behind mythies and why they appeared. This is a fun story that takes place mostly on a pirate ship. There is a lot of adventure and a mystery that is solved.
Characters (4/5): The characters were decent and fairly engaging. Lintang comes off as overly rash at times. Some of the crew on Captain Shafira’s ship are a bit over-characterized and because of the number of crew these characters aren’t filled out very well. This is aimed at middle grade readers and I think both Lintang and Bayani will appeal more to kids than adults.
Setting (5/5): This is set in an interesting fantasy world where a massive event resulted in the appearance of dangerous mythological creatures called “mythies”. The world building is very well done and excellent background is provided to really make this world come alive for the reader.
Writing Style (4/5): The writing style was easy to read and engaging. Between every few chapters there is a small section that describes a mythie and that mythie’s characteristics. This is written at an easier reading level and is definitely appropriate for middle grade aged readers.
Summary (4/5): Overall this was a solid middle grade read full of adventure, some mystery, and set in an intriguing and well thought-out world. I read this out loud with my 13 year old son and we both enjoyed it. This is aimed at middle grade readers and I think that age group will enjoy this more than adults, the language and plot and is fairly simple throughout.
