Calamity Jack

Image from amazon.ca

Like its predecessor, Rapunzel’s Revenge, Calamity Jack is a great adventure tale with terrific characters.

Jack played a part in the earlier story of Rapunzel, and this book gives a bit more of his personal history. It also gives a quick synopsis of how Jack and Rapunzel met before launching into the next chapter of their lives together.

As in the first book, Rapunzel is shown as capable and heroic, traits much appreciated by Jack who notes that she is “not some silly pastry girl. She’s strong and great and amazing and fun and beautiful…” Other female characters are also shown as strong–Jack’s mother and the pixies, although they do use their femininity and beauty to charm the brownies who work for the bad guy.

There are also positive portrayals of male characters. While Jack could have been presented as a one-dimensional reformed sinner with a knack for scheming, his internal monologues show that there is much more to him. He reflects on his relationship with his mother, wanting to make amends and do the right thing for her. He also has a bit of an identity crisis, not knowing if he truly is reformed or still a bad guy at heart. His love for Rapunzel, as the quote above demonstrates, is about more than her appearance–he truly appreciates her for who she is, not just how she looks.

Freddie Sparksmith, a genius with technology, provides some comic relief without being shown as “nerdy.” In fact, he looks like he could be a great sidekick to Rapunzel and Jack, in a future volume of this series, if another is being planned (and I hope it is).

Like Rapunzel’s Revenge, my son read this one more than once. The illustrations and writing are excellent, and there is lots of action without gore. Highly recommended.