Hook’s Revenge by Heidi Schultz

Captain Hook’s feisty daughter hits the high seas to avenge her father’s death at the jaws of the Neverland crocodile in Heidi Schulz’s spirited middle-grade debut.

Twelve-year-old Jocelyn dreams of becoming every bit as daring as her infamous father, Captain James Hook. Her grandfather, on the other hand, intends to see her starched and pressed into a fine society lady. When she’s sent to Miss Eliza Crumb-Biddlecomb’s Finishing School for Young Ladies, Jocelyn’s hopes of following in her father’s fearsome footsteps are lost in a heap of dance lessons, white gloves, and way too much pink.

So when Jocelyn receives a letter from her father challenging her to avenge his untimely demise at the jaws of the Neverland crocodile, she doesn’t hesitate–here at last is the adventure she has been waiting for. But Jocelyn finds that being a pirate is a bit more difficult than she’d bargained for. As if attempting to defeat the Neverland’s most fearsome beast isn’t enough to deal with, she’s tasked with captaining a crew of woefully untrained pirates, outwitting cannibals wild for English cuisine, and rescuing her best friend from a certain pack of lost children, not to mention that pesky Peter Pan who keeps barging in uninvited.

The crocodile’s clock is always ticking in Heidi Schulz’s debut novel, a story told by an irascible narrator who is both dazzlingly witty and sharp as a sword. Will Jocelyn find the courage to beat the incessant monster before time runs out?

I am loving this Peter Pan retelling thing that’s going on, friends. I mean, I love that story, even though it isn’t my favorite Disney/classic out there. But mostly I love it because it’s so imaginative, plus it’s got pirates and THOSE I am always excited about. Take HOOK’S REVENGE, for example. The badass daughter of Captain Hook takes off after the crocodile that killed her father, but she must first fight against the structured life that young girls of her time are supposed to have.

Also. Peter Pan is in it. WORD.

Plus, can we leap for joy over this cover? It’s AMAZING. So bright and fun, and it’s illustrated. One of my favorite things about middle grade is that I can get unabashedly excited over illustrations. Based on this cover, I can’t wait to see what kinds of excellent images HOOK’S REVENGE contains.

HOOK’S REVENGE comes out September 16, 2014 from Disney-Hyperion