Critique

At first I had no idea what to make of this book. I suppose given the cover art and title, I was expecting a story of daring escapades in which a boy who thought he was supposed to already have died was completely fearless in the face of danger, leading a crew of misfit sailors into certain death scenarios and coming out completely unscathed. It took me a while to adjust to the fact that, in reality, it’s nothing like that at all, but is more of a dark comedy about a clever but unassuming boy who runs from death directly into the arms of various strangers who are not necessarily the best type of people to be surrounded by.

The story generally assumes that most people Pepper encounters are going to try to take advantage of him in some way, or, at the very least, completely misinterpret everything about him. However, if you pull yourself out of the narrative for a moment and recalibrate what you’re expecting, the tale of young Pepper is actually pretty funny, especially all of the little narrator intrusions that Geraldine adds throughout the story. My favorite is a little jab at editors mentioning that no editor can read something without changing it. (Having editor disputes lately, Geraldine?)

Anyway, all of that said, don’t take the book too seriously, and I believe you will really enjoy the read, especially the jabs at Catholicism, and the base nature of people. Otherwise, you’ll likely be frustrated that the book is not something different than it is. I recommend this book to young readers who enjoy a good dark comedy.