So far, I think I’m doing a pretty good job of keeping up with this series! I have to admit that I may have bitten off more than I can chew when it comes to the number of books I’ve borrowed as well as the number of ARCs I’ve received, especially considering my current workload in my Masters. But I’m determined to do it all – even if it means many sleepless nights! Anyways, I like reading the books in this series because they are fairly short and full of so much adventure that the story just whizzes by!
Dido Twite wakes up to find herself on board a ship. While she’s grateful for having been saved, all she really wants is to go home to England. However, Captain Casket decides to land in Nantucket, and leaves Dido and his daughter, Dutiful Penitence, behind in the care of Dutiful’s sinister Aunt Tribulation. Life is unbearable at Aunt Tribulation’s farmhouse with all of the chores that the girls are made to do. When mysterious men begin to lurk about, Dido takes it upon herself to rally against their shenanigans with the help of Dutiful, a cabin boy named Nate, and a pink whale.
I’m happy I got to read more about Dido, as she is my favorite heroine of all times! I love her plucky attitude, and her “brattiness” that was seen in the previous novel is all but gone! I will admit that I didn’t enjoy this story as much as I had hoped; it felt a bit too disjointed for me. While I’m used to reading about ridiculous and funny characters in this series, Captain Casket was a bit too ridiculous, and I found his obsession with the pink whale to be perplexing. If I’m honest, I didn’t really get the point of the pink whale for most of the story, and when the author DID tie it all in, I still felt as if it was a bit lackluster. I know this may sound hypocritical coming from me, especially since what I love about Joan Aiken and this series is the complete weirdness of it all, but in the case of this novel, it just didn’t work for me. However, the overall story was funny and interesting with more Hanoverian plots thrown in! I am going to continue to read the next book in the series and see what else Dido is going to do!
Happy reading ~
I too found the pink whale a bit too much at times but with Dido and the Chronicles I found I just had to surrender to the narrative and suspend my disbelief more than I would normally.
I’m glad it wasn’t just me! Many people found this book to be their favorite in the series, but for me, this one has been my least favorite. I also felt the need to hold back my disbelief more than my usual in order to enjoy this story!
I’m working my way through all the Chronicles, including NBN, and exploring each of them in a series of related posts (just done The Stolen Lake). If you’re interested my Nantucket posts are here under this tag: https://calmgrove.wordpress.com/tag/night-birds-on-nantucket/ — I even mention the whale!
I will definitely check it out! Please feel free to explore my blog and comment/like any posts that seem interesting to you! I’m going to be continuing to read this series so please do check out my subsequent posts!
I will, thanks!