Swallows and Amazons
When the Walker children, John, Susan, Titty, and Roger, receive permission to explore and camp for a full week on the island nearby where they’re vacationing, they are positively delighted. They set out in the sailboat, the Swallow, and the adventures begin. A few days after their arrival, they meet Nancy and Peggy Blackett, who are crusading as fearsome Amazon pirates. A friendship is struck up immediately and an offense-or-defense treaty is signed, so that they can war together or against each other as desired. But their one common cause is against Captain Flint (or rather, Nancy and Peggy’s Uncle Jim), living on a houseboat, whose terrible crime is a refusal to join in their fun this summer.
I really had a lot of fun reading this one. I’d never heard of it before until just a month or two ago, but even though it’s considered Juvenile Fiction, I’m convinced that readers of any age would enjoy Swallows and Amazons. After all, who hasn’t dreamed as a child of having adventures on a remote island? Being centered so much around boats, there is a lot of boat-related jargon that I found difficult to pick up on at first, but by the time I’d made it halfway through the book I was able to follow along without a problem.