Will could walk a tightrope and juggle bananas as he went. "One day you'll be the star of a circus," his mother told him. "But until then, you must be a secret." For each year pirates came to the islands to steal young boys for their crew. And if that happened to you, well, you may as well kiss your life goodbye. So what's a young lad to do when his mother disappears and pirates arrive at his door? Will takes courage from a crazy truth-telling parrot, and his mother's advice: "Keep putting one foot in front of the other and your eyes on the prize." But will this be enough to survive the perils at sea? And will that infuriatingly polite boy called Horrendo finally tip the balance? A high-seas pirate adventure about finding the most precious treasure of all. Gr 4–6—Pirate adventure stories are hardly a new excursion, but this novel of scoundrels, secrets, and discovering the truth will pull readers in from the first page. Will lives a quiet life with his mother, hidden away on an island far away from anyone else. Will himself is a secret. He's been kept from wandering eyes to save him from the pirates who crash ashore every year to kidnap young boys. Alone, except for his mother, he spends his days learning funambulism from her, the fine art of tightrope walking and juggling, which she used to do in her days in the circus. When his mother mysteriously disappears, Will is thrust into the world of the pirates from whom she worked so hard to shield him. This title will attract plenty of readers; it has action, friendship, humor, redemption, and (obviously) some very rowdy pirates, some of whom Will finds favorable by the end of his adventure. VERDICT Hand this to fans of Fienberg's Horrendo's Curse, as Will makes a cameo, or give to those looking for a high seas tale of mythical proportions.—Ashley Prior, Lincoln Public Library, RI “[T]his novel . . .  will pull readers in from the first page.” — School Library Journal "readers who enjoy seafaring fantasy will enjoy Will's struggle to remain true to himself."— Booklist Online Exclusive  Anna Fienberg is the author of more than 20 children's books, including the Tashi series, the Minton series, The Figaro and Rumba series, and The Hottest Boy Who Ever Lived .