The Wicked Ship is the first book in Oceanforged, a new series by Amelia Mellor, author of The Grandest Bookshop in the World. It follows the story of Cori, a young orphan girl who unwittingly becomes a pirate on a ship with a horrendous captain, crew and reputation. During one village pillage, she is sent into a decrepit, booby-trapped vault to find a weapon. It turns out this weapon is the Oceanforged Gauntlet: an instrument that belonged to long-forgotten champions who used to rule Cori’s world with fairness and strength. Much to her captain’s chagrin, the gauntlet has chosen Cori to be its champion – and so the fun begins! Cori must find the other pieces of armour before the captain does, with only the ragtag crew she pulls together to help – which I assume will be the genesis of the remaining books in the series. The sentences are short, the pace is quick, and the scene is set beautifully, making this a good read-alone or a fun read-along.
My eight-year-old was meant to review this book, and while he isn’t on the payroll, I think he gets enough perks (free books), however, when asked to put pen to paper he said, enthusiastically:
‘Five stars.’
‘Great,’ I said, ‘and …?’
‘And what?’
‘You need to give the people more than that!’
‘It’s good, and they should read it.’
I tried to pull more out of him for three weeks and this is what I got: ‘Fun, interesting, entertaining; I want to read the whole series, when is the next book coming out? Where is Oceanforged? I want to read it again.’
The verdict is in!
Rosalind McClintock is the head of marketing
Contributing Readling reviewer: Hubert, age 8
I liked this story very much and am looking forward to Book Two. Cori and her friends are adventurous and brave. The story is filled with detail, excitement and suspense. Some younger readers might get a little bit scared at times, but not too scared to stop you reading. Readers of the Rainbow Magic series may like this series because the characters also try to find things and make friends along the way.
Contributing Readling reviewer: Imogen, age 8
