Introducing the second adventure in the Pirate Acadmey series – Missing at Sea. This series is actually set in the same swashbuckling world as VAMPIRATES but they can be read independently of each other. Pirate Academy is set five years earlier but there are some cross-over characters, including ‘golden boy’ Jacoby. Author, Justin Somper, has written a special piece for my blog aimed at helping readers understand Jacoby a little better…:
“The whole of Pirate Academy is abuzz with anticipation for the upcoming Oceans Bound weekend. It’s the first time the young pirate apprentices of Barracuda Class will set sail as five independent crews – with no teacher oversight! Excitement reaches fever-pitch as Commodore Kuo and Captain Salt reveal which of the fifteen Barracudas will act as captains for Oceans Bound. Jacoby is devastated when he isn’t picked, which makes things difficult for Jasmine when she is chosen. But worse, much worse, is in store, when Jasmine is told that her Uncle Noah – a ringleader of the League of True Pirates – has, against all odds, broken out of the Pirate Federation’s maximum security prison. Fearing that he will try to make contact with Jasmine, the Head and Deputy give Jasmine the chance to opt out of Oceans Bound. But Jasmine is not about to let her renegade uncle ruin everything. The five Barracuda crews set sail with hope and adventure in their hearts, beginning a complex trail of tasks, each delivered to its crew via a note in a coloured glass bottle. For one crew, the tasks quickly become much more dangerous. As they bravely navigate poisonous snakes, venomous spiders, sharks and skulls, it becomes clear that someone else is now in control of Oceans Bound. It’s going to take everything they’ve got for our plucky young pirates to complete the course and triumph against their fiendish enemy.”
MEET JACOBY BLUNT
During a recent podcast interview, I was asked to name my favourite character in PIRATE ACADEMY. I know, as I set out on a UK-wide schools tour, that I’ll have to get used to more of this! I typically squirm when I’m asked to name my favourite characters. It is, as I often point out, akin to asking a parent to name their favourite child. But, on this occasion – whilst stopping short of naming him as my favourite – I did admit to having a sneaking affection for Jacoby Blunt. I also ‘fessed up that there is quite a lot of me in young Jacoby. I’m not entirely sure how that happened – or if it’s really something I should shout about!
Jacoby first appears in the second VAMPIRATES book, TIDE OF TERROR. Here, he is very much presented as “the golden boy” of the Academy. As he shepherds newcomer Connor Tempest around, Jacoby seems to have the run of the place. The fact he is prodigiously talented is abundantly clear and he’s a favourite of both the Head, John Kuo, and Cheng Li. Jacoby’s unassailable rise continues in BLACK HEART, the fourth VAMPS novel, where Cheng Li appoints him as her deputy. Things do get rather more challenging for Jacoby towards the end of the VAMPS sequence but I won’t plot spoil here.
When I decided to make Jacoby and Jasmine key protagonists of PIRATE ACADEMY, I set myself the (mostly) enjoyable challenge of working out who they would be five years before we meet them in VAMPS. With Jacoby, I thought it would be fun to play with his later “golden boy” image and to suggest that his rise to glory has not been as straightforward as we might have anticipated. This, as you may have seen, is proving a lot of fun!
Jacoby was always quite a chatterbox and, immediately in NEW KID ON DECK, we find that at eleven-years-old, he already had the gift of the gab. As the kids of Barracuda Class wait for their parent captains to sail into the Academy harbour, we see Jacoby is the charismatic ringmaster of the group. He seems buoyantly confident but that confidence is about to take a knock. The report he receives at Captains’ Evening is nowhere near as glowing as he anticipated. In fact, as he later confides to Jasmine, he’s going to have to really up his game if he’s not going to be kicked out of the elite Academy, home to “the best of the best”.
As if his report wasn’t enough of a shock, Jacoby then has to swiftly deal with the departure of his beloved roommate, Wing Moon, and the virtually simultaneous arrival of mysterious newcomer, Neo Splice. Jacoby immediately feels threatened by Neo’s arrival and we get to see some unappealing sides to his character as he intentionally makesNeo feel less than welcome – firstly in Sailing Class and then, quite spectacularly, in Swords Class. Jacoby is aided and abetted by his good pal, Cosmo Corsini. The two are not always the best influence on each other.
Once Neo begins to open up to Jacoby and his fellow Barracudas, we see a different, more honourable side to Jacoby emerge. On learning that Neo has an impending midnight rendezvous with the League of True Pirates, Jacoby is quick to assure him, “You’re not going in alone.” Later, when Cosmo is badly injured by a falling mast, we see further evidence of Jacoby’s kindness and loyalty. At the end of NEW KID ON DECK, Jacoby is served up a very different kind of challenge by Neo and, this time, rises to the occasion well.
Jacoby certainly loves to be right at the heart of things. As MISSING AT SEA opens, we see him in a high state of excitement about the upcoming Oceans Bound weekend. After his great expectations, we witness his crushing disappointment at not being made a student captain – and we see him act out horribly at this point. This is where (I trust) Jacoby and I part company but, all the same, I can relate to what he’s going through. And, after a bumpy start, he gets back on track by the time the Barracuda boats sail out of the harbour.
Typically, Jacoby brings an infectious energy and enthusiasm to whatever group or occasion he is part of. He relishes the competitive aspects of Oceans Bound – the bonus points crews get for arriving first etc. But we are also starting to see a more vulnerable side to him and maybe even to get closer to the reason why he sometimes behaves as badly as he does. As Neo executes a free dive with seeming effortlessness, Jacoby confides in Jasmine, “I used to think I was on the fast track to being a pirate superstar. Lately, I’ve had the feeling I’m just making up the numbers in Barracuda Class.”
After he is made even more vulnerable, thanks to a severe spider’s bite, Jacoby makes a similar heartfelt confession to Neo. “Now I know. I’m just average. Middle of the ocean. Probably talented enough to be a reliable Deputy. But not marked out for any kind of glory.”
It really does seem that the pressure-cooker environment of Pirate Academy is taking its toll on Jacoby. Both Jasmine and Neo try to reassure him that he is being far too harsh on himself. And, as their adventures continue, we watch him bounce back. But, when he does so, it’s with an appealing new-found humility.
If you’ve read VAMPIRATES, you know that Jacoby IS going to be a formidable young pirate in just a few years’ time. As his PIRATE ACADEMY adventures continue, we’ll see how he gets there – in fits and starts, two steps forward and one step back – which I hope only makes him a more interesting and likeable character. But then, as I said at the start, I definitely do have a soft spot for this pirate apprentice!
Well I hope that’s whet your appetite for some more sea-faring adventures with Jacoby and the crew! This instalment is released on the 6th of July so you’ve just got time to read the first title beforehand.
Jo.
*Many thanks to Uclan Publishing for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour*
Library Girl and Book Boy 