While somewhat strung out and written in a somewhat peculiar style, this is an interesting story with a variety of characters. (My favorites are Emma and the indigent girls.) The action follows several of the characters in different directions, leaving others behind entirely. There is a lot of mystery in this small town, for having so few residents and over 350 pages. Overall, the storyline was decent, but the presentation took away from the book being as compelling a read as it could have been. ( )

The book was strongly pushed by the Penguin editor at the ALA Midwinter breakfast. Sounded interesting so I made sure to pick up an ARC. I started reading last night and couldn't put it down. By 1:00 a.m, I finished this lovely story about a reformed thief (Nacky Patcher), an orphaned boy (Teedie), and the down-and-out town in which they live (Yole).
Nacky is one of the few who believes the old songs about the curse of the dry-land boats. What others don't realize is that the only way to save their town is to reverse the curse. But how?
Then one evening as Nacky and Teedie heads home, he sees a the ghost ship. Stunned, Nacky realizes how to reverse the curse. Only one problem...he has to convince the entire town to help--people he's fleeced or robbed and who don't believe a word he says. Will he succeed? Will the town be saved?
Grades 3-7 ( )