Curse of the blue tattoo by L.A. Meyer

It's the second book of the Bloody Jack series! This is really shaping up to be one of my new favourite series! I actually read the book before I left for Singapore (so three months ago?), but somehow forgot to post my review. My bad ><
Anyway, if you want to read my review of the first book, click here.

After the ending of the first book, where [SPOILER ALERT] Jacky's true identity as a girl was revealed, she was sent to the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls, where she is to learn to be a "lady". But, the strict rules and mean girls prove too much, and Jacky's yearning to be free leads her into a host of adventures, which include her getting thrown into jail, and disguising herself as a boy (again) to ride a horse in a race.

One other thread running through the book would be Jacky and Jaimy's romance. The two of them were separated at the start of the book, and they attempt to keep in contact through letters. The key word is attempt, because somehow, their letters don't reach each other. Jacky's suspicion is that Jaimy's mother, who disapproves of her, and there's a fair chance that Jaimy's letters are being kept from Jacky by Mistress Pimm, the strict schoolmistress.

Lots of things happen in this book, and if I summarise them all, you might think it terribly unbelievable and far fetched. But the way Jacky tells it, it seems very natural to me. Jacky is just doing what she thinks is best, she can't help it if she has all sorts of crazy adventures.

Oh, and Jacky is way more charming than she thinks. I'm pretty sure she won the admiration of all the servants, and her new friend Amy's brother Randalph (although Randalph is a connundrum, since you're never sure why he's nice to Jacky).

Speaking of Amy, I thought she was an interesting character. As a girl who chose to be an outcast (she refuses to sit with the popular girls because one of them owns slaves), her friendship with Jacky was one of the high points in this book.

Another interesting character was Mistress Pimm. I had thought her to be the sort of headmistress that would be partial to the rich, but she's actually quite fair. As long as you break her school's rules, you will get punished, no matter who your father is. She wasn't as shallow a character as I had thought her to be.

Lastly, there's a reference to the first book here, as Jacky quotes the opening of the first book when she tells her lifestory to her friend Amy. Honestly, it sounds a bit weird, because if Jacky were to recite the entire first book, it would be way too long. But, in another way, it does make sense, because Jacky is the narrator of the first book as well, and she's telling her story to a friend.

In conclusion, this is a wonderful second book. I can't wait to get my hands on the third book and read it!