The Rogues and Rapscallions of YA

The Rogues and Rapscallions of YA Lit

by Juliet White

Stories that venture onto the wrong side of the law are eternally enticing. Books let us vicariously experience the thrills of a life of crime without the handcuffs, jumpsuits, and jail time. Young adult books are filled with bad boys— and girls—who flout the rules. And we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Readers have swooned over bad boy vampires such as Damian Salvatore (The Vampire Diaries) and Adrian Ivashkov (Vampire Academy and the Bloodlines series). We’ve rooted for Leigh Bardugo’s morally-questionable characters like Kaz from Six of Crows and the compelling Darkling from The Grisha Trilogy. While “dark and brooding” might have become the stuff of cliché,

our appetite for stories that veer into territory no guidance counselor would ever recommend remains!

Pirate tales are one subgenre of YA fiction that’s guaranteed to deliver scallywags and ne’er-do-wells galore. Good pirate yarns are like rip currents. They sweep us away into a world brimming with high stakes drama and swashbucklers, in an evocative setting. The buccaneers of young adult fiction are some of the most captivating rogues to ever sword fight their way across a page. Whether you’re in the mood for sea pirates or space pirates, this genre promises lawlessness, adventure, and sometimes even love.

Although such books typically fall into either fantasy or historical genres, there are a myriad of interpretations and premises that keep these YA novels feeling fresh. To Catch a Pirate opens with protagonist Annalisa Townsend at the mercy of pirates who have invaded her father’s ship. Buccaneer James Sterling is surprised when his hostage dares to negotiate with him and this first interaction launches a tale of adventure, romance, and pursuit—literal pursuit because Annalisa is determined to track down the man who stole from her. While To Catch a Pirate plots a traditional course, Cassandra Rose Clarke steers the genre in an intriguing direction in her Assassin’s Curse series. Ananna is a pirate who jumps ship when she is expected to enter an arranged marriage with another pirate clan. The clan retaliates by sending an assassin, Naji, to kill her. Ananna unleashes a curse that unintentionally binds pirate and assassin together. Even when the curse is broken, their conflicted desire for each other lingers.

A look at literary pirates wouldn’t be complete without paying homage to Peter

Pan. Although J.M. Barrie’s classic is usually considered a middle grade read, it has inspired numerous retellings, including some YA books. Unhooked, authored by Lisa Maxwell, presents a darker version of the story—it’s not Nana’s Neverland that’s for sure. Rather than being a crusty villain, the Captain Hook in these pages is an unexpectedly sexy rapscallion.

Pop culture staples such as Peter Pan and Pirates of the Caribbean (the original inspiration behind Annie Sullivan’s A Touch of Gold) ensure that we’re well-versed in pirate tropes. That makes us better able to appreciate it when authors flip the standard male buccaneer paradigm on its tricorn-covered head. Both Celia Rees’s Pirates! and L.A. Meyer’s Bloody Jack series center around a female protagonist who disguises herself as male, in order to be a pirate. This setup not only lets characters move beyond the gender constraints of a historical setting, but it also raises more enduring issues about the chasm between the image we present publicly and the private reality.

There are, in fact, historical examples of girls who masqueraded as boys to become pirates. Miriam McNamara explores the life of one such individual in her recently-released debut novel, The Unbinding of Mary Reade. The tale is based on the life of Mary Reade, a.k.a. Mark Reade, who spent many years presenting as male before joining up with infamous pirates Calico Jack and Anne Bonny.

Fierce female characters abound in pirate fiction. Tricia Levenseller’s Daughter of the Pirate King opens with Princess Alosa concealed as a cabin boy, but that charade

only lasts for the first few pages. After that, Alosa’s strength and cunning become clear to the reader as she masterminds her own kidnapping to infiltrate an enemy pirate ship. When you’re a pirate princess, wholesome dating options are scarce and a relationship with first mate, Riden, is tempting. Almost as tempting as the treasure map Alosa’s tasked with finding.

Prefer pirates that navigate a galaxy rather than an ocean? Then Heart of Iron (which came out in February of this year) has you covered. Ashley Poston of Geekeralla fame delivers a tale that draws on the story of Anastasia Romanov—but with passion and space pirates. Naturally! But that’s far from the only swagger-filled read that 2018 has in store. Sara Raasch’s These Rebel Waves has piratical themes and is hitting bookshelves in August.

Then, in October, The Lady’s Guide to Petticoats and Piracy, promises to deliver plenty of shenanigans and scallywags. This is the sequel to The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee. The first book featured Monty, the ultimate bad boy, who carouses his way across Europe with his sister Felicity and love interest Percy in tow. Although pirates make a cameo, it’s only in the second novel, which concentrates on Felicity, that they score a mention in the title.

More pirate books are lurking on the YA horizon for 2019. The only thing more engrossing than a buccaneer yarn is a story featuring a ghost ship. Tor Teen is publishing Django Wexler’s Ship of Smoke and Steel, a fantasy novel in which eighteen-yearold Isoka must steal a ghost ship in order to save her sister’s life. This is the first book of a trilogy—a boon for pirate lovers. Candlewick also intends to release a fantasy novel set on a pirate ship. Look for Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s The Mermaid, the Witch and the Sea in 2019, as well.

Since rebellion never gets old, YA literature will continue to take us on a walk—or sail—on the wild side. Regardless of our destination, we’ll be accompanied by strong characters whose exploits keep us flipping pages long into the night.

As a kid, Juliet White slept with a flashlight in her bed for late-night stealth reading. You can find her obsessing about libraries @Juliet- Writes on Twitter, or visit her at julietwhite.com.