Nacky Patcher & the Curse of the Dry-Land Boats

by Jeffrey Kluger

What Nacky Patcher and Teedie Flinn discover in the owl light and blackberry water of Yole Lake causes them to suspect they are losing their wits. Polished wood as far as the eye can see—an entire ship comes unbuttoned! Yet they see something else, too, something far more important: a way out from the curse that has burdened the poor folks of Yole for generations. But first, they will need the villagers to do something they haven’t done in a long time: work as a team.

Jeffrey Kluger, co-author of the blockbuster book-turned-film Apollo 13, delivers one of the finest, quirkiest, and most emotionally satisfying reads of the year. As they rise to the challenge of something greater than themselves, this cast of characters will capture readers’ hearts and imaginations.

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult, Fiction

384 pages, Hardcover

First published June 21, 2007

About the author

Jeffrey Kluger is Editor at Large at Time, where he has written more than 45 cover stories. Coauthor of Lost Moon: The Perilous Voyage of Apollo 13, which was the basis for the movie Apollo 13, he is also the author of 13 other books including his latest book Gemini: Stepping Stone to the Moon, the Untold Story.

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This sprawling, Twainian yarn is the best thing since Robert McCloskey, and any child or adult who picks it up will be pleasantly engrossed within minutes. Nacky (a sweetly earnest con man) and Tweedie (his sharper, scrappier, eleven year-old protegé) are heading home from the pub one night when they witness the wreckage of a giant ship emerging from the landlocked lake that is the center of their town. Aiming to break the longstanding curse on their land, they set out to rebuild the boat and haul it to the ocean. What happens next is the stuff of legends.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A man with one leg and a boy with one hand see a vision on the surface of their local inland bound lake that simply cannot be. There, floating on the surface of the water, is a whole host of wood. Enough wood to build a ship. Enough wood that it MUST become a ship. The boy is Teedie Flinn and he's caused enough trouble in his scant years upon this earth to last a lifetime. The man is Nacky Patcher, a well-known liar and questionable companion for a boy like Teedie. When the two see the wood drifting on the water, however, their course is clear. Gathering their fellow townspeople about them, the two make their case: They must collect, dry, and reassemble this ship that has magically (?) appeared in their midst. If they do this and send it off into the world then Nacky is convinced that the curse that hangs over the town of Yole will lift. Putting a boat together isn't as easy as it may seem, however, and there are some people for whom this crazy dream spells danger. When the villainous Mally Baloo catches wind of Nacky's plan, he becomes determined to thwart it by whatever means are at his disposal. It will take the pulling together of a community and the strength of those considered weak to determine whether or not a thief and a juvenile delinquent are capable of ridding a town of evil.

Kluger also knows how to place one word in front of another in a pleasing manner. Single sentences just suck a reader in. For example, there are phrases like, "Nacky nodded, and Emma then fixed him with a sharp look. Near as he could identify it, it was a look of clean, pure will, one he'd never seen out of her before - and may never have seen from anyone else, either." I love that line, "clean, pure will." Remember that I'm always trying to determine if books like this are going to be interesting to kids. So while the writing is great, there are highly detailed sections, usually pertaining to the boat, that can sometimes be a bit much. "The futtocks and Keelson that helped form the ribs and the spine of the ship weighed several tons each. The keel itself was far larger and far heavier than both. As with all great sailing ships, the keel of a clipper was not a tall and tapered fin that slashed a deep cut in the water. Rather, it was nothing more than a long, wide, slightly bent beam." Is this the "Moby-Dick" of children's literature? Credit Jeffrey Kluger with this much; he has the courage of his convictions. They say that you can get anyone interested in anything if the writing is good enough. "Nacky Patcher" may then prove to be the ultimate test.

It was Washington Post reviewer Elizabeth Ward who pointed out that child fans of David Macaulay might really be the ideal audience for this title. The kinds of children who relish technical details. The ones who read "Caddie Woodlawn" for the clock repair sections and The Green Glass Sea for the "gadgets". And maybe I'm looking at all of this the wrong way. Maybe the point is not whether or not the book will find its readership, but if we the parents, librarians, teachers, and educators can take it upon ourselves to determine who this book may appeal to, and promote it along those lines. When all is said and done, "Nacky Patcher and the Curse of the Dry-Land Boats" is a book that rewards the reader. Not flashy or pandering or anything but good, it sells us a vision of a world to which I would be happy to belong. A diamond in the rough.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has really fun language use. For example, at one point the author refers to an attractive woman as an "eye sweet". You know exactly what he means, but still enjoy the original way he says it. It reminds me a bit of having a conversation with a non-native speaker of English. Occasionally they will spurt out something that makes perfect sense and yet you have never heard a native English speaker use that particular phrase, and you laugh and smile.

Apart from the language, the characters are stock types straight out of central casting. But they are very enjoyable anyways and fun to get to know. The book reminds me very much of "Holes" in the way it makes you want to believe in magical things happening to otherwise ordinary people in an otherwise ordinary world (except this world is clearly not "ordinary", it's also not fantastical either).

Fun, not too deep.

[Stef · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved this book. It had a nice pace to it and kept your interested piqued without being action packed. I really came to love the townspeople and wanted to see them succeed. The imaginary town, unusual characters, and mystical elements kept me wondering what was next.

[Debrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

When the teak components of a huge clipper ship magically appear in the town's mountain lake, former thief Nacky Patcher and an oddball cast of characters try to build it, to cast off the curse reputed to be on the town. Quite a distinctive flavor, if a bit measured in the telling.

[Tom Leonard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique book that is well written.

[Jean · Rating 2 out of 5]

an ok book but I couldn't force myself to keep reading it. Maybe if it was shorter or if I was more interested in ships...

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Certainly an original story and a unique writing style. I was never quite sure what to make of it, but it kept me interested. The characters are especially complex, and the plot hums along.

[J M · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this book . good plot , nice style. will pass it along to our young adult section of the Library