This book has EVERYTHING!
-New York City
-A feisty, smart, impulsive heroine who doesn't need any big strong man coming to rescue *her*, thanks very much.
-Pirates
-Zombies. On an island. AN ISLAND OF ZOMBIES.
-Indians (as in Native Americans) with TOMAHAWKS
-Misty Scottish moors
-Pirate ships
-Woods (deep, dark and dangerous)
-Lots of adventure
-Lots of stories
-Did I mention the feisty, smart, impulsive heroine?
Cat Manno lies in a kind of coma in a hospital bed after narrowly surviving a very nasty encounter with a speeding fire truck. Her life hangs in the balance, as does that of her beloved grandfather, Victor, who is the reason Cat survived.
While her family wait and worry, Cat finds herself in a mysterious world. Made up of three worlds based upon the classic adventure stories Victor used to read to her when she was younger, Cat must survive a host of scary adventures and deadly enemies, assisted by three loyal allies. Her ultimate quest is to get to Far Rockaway and save her grandfather. While Cat always enjoyed the stories Victor read to her, she often wondered why they lacked 'real' girls. Now she finds herself, a real girl, trapped in a strange fictional (or is it?) world. And she must not only rescue her grandfather, but herself, if she wants to get home. If she wants to live.
I loved this book. Most of all I loved Cat. She's tough, smart, vulnerable, funny and brave. She's also hot-headed and impulsive. It's always fantastic to find a character like Cat out there, offering an alternative to the likes of Bella from Twilight. If a vampire boy came on to Cat, she would ram a stake through his heart and make fun of his hair.
I loved how Fletcher weaves the fictional worlds of three classics (Last of the Mohicans, Treasure Island and Kidnapped) into their own unique versions which Cat enters. I now want to read all 3 books. Fletcher takes classic characters and makes them seem new and fresh and relevant to Cat and the 21st century world she comes from.
I also enjoyed and was gripped by the interspersed chapters told from the point of view of Cat's family, back in the 'real' world. Things that happen to Cat in the worlds she finds herself in are reflected in things happening to her body back in the 'real' one. While Cat's adventures race along helter-skelter, the slower pace of things for her family are every bit as gripping.
Fletcher doesn't shy away from depicting some pretty bloody violence, or using appropriate and fairly mild swear words (mostly 'bastard' and various pirate-y insults). I mean, there's a frigging ISLAND OF ZOMBIES! Given this, I'd say this is for age 11+.
A very fun read, but touching too.