CAT O’NINE TAILS

The fourth installment of this series is a little too long, the adventures a little too forced and Cat falls a little too easily into and out of scrapes. In December 1791, Cat’s in Bath with her noble friend Frank’s family and their collection of pals from Drury Lane. She’s bored, but not for long, as the lot of them are press-ganged into the Navy on a ship with a mad captain and a vicious purser. Cat takes to male clothing again, is forced to goad her dear friend Syd into actually hitting her to preserve her disguise (a discomfiting scene), escapes on a Georgia island where she is adopted by the Creek Indians, flees into the hands of those who will take her to Frank’s sister and spouse in Philadelphia—and so on. And on. Cat’s always able to do whatever needs to be done. She’s an impossibly talented tall-tale heroine, good at everything—except choosing among the bevy of boys who adore her. The once-fresh Cat’s getting a bit stale. (Historical fiction. 10-14)