Knife’s Edge by Hope Larson -OPTIONAL

Larson, Hope Knife’s Edge (Sequel to Compass South) by Hope Larson,  50 pgs. Penguin Random House, 2017.  $20. 

Language: G (1 swear: 1C); Mature Content: G (kissing); Violence: PG (bar scenes, whipping).

MS -OPTIONAL

The twins Cleo and Alexander have found a ship and captain to help them seek out their family treasure. But pirate Felix Worley is on their trail and determined to wrest the keys to the treasure’s location away from them. In the meantime, they take care of their sick father and learns the ways of sailing (swabbing the deck and helping cooky), and they aren’t getting along at all. New and old friends come their way and they discover that their mother may still be alive. When Cleo joins us with Captain Worley, she will have to decide what kind of pirate she wants to be.

This second book in the series was much less confusing (only one pair of red-head twins this time!) but since Cleo cut her hair, it was still challenging to tell the twins apart. However there was much more violence in this book, which probably wouldn’t be horrible in a chapter book but given the imagery of a graphic novel it makes it inappropriate for elementary. It was a fun pirate adventure with lots of different locations and memorable characters. The illustrations were great. Pick this up if you had fans of the first book.

Stephanie Elementary School Librarian & Author