Orphaned twins Cleo and Alex are on the lam after a botched burglary leaves them in danger both from their former gang and from the authorities. After spotting a classified ad by a rich man in San Francisco looking for his lost children – red-headed twin boys – Cleo cuts her hair and they embark on a thrilling journey across the sea. But their past is catching up with them: the twins were given a clasp knife and pocket watch by their father (long since lost at sea), and the dreaded pirate Lucky Worley is searching for them and the secret they contain.
I’m always a sucker for swashbuckling sea stories, and Compass South ticks all the boxes – mysterious treasure, derring-do, honorable thieves (and dishonorable ones too, of course), girls disguised as boys, and beautiful pictures of sailing ships. Cleo and Alex are compelling protagonists, and the supporting cast is richly painted (though the villains are fairly one-dimensional). All in all, Larson pens an enjoyable coming-of-age story, full of nautical adventures. The sequel, Knife’s Edge, is also in our collection, and I will read it next!
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