Nothing happens on the island of Caveat. Viola and Wilmur were abandoned on the island years ago, and the two siblings spend most of their days trying not to die of starvation or boredom.
Then one day, a ship comes to Caveat. The captain wants a book that Viola and Wilmur have in their possession. They agree to give it to her on one condition—she must take them with her.
Viola and Wilmur spend their days just getting by on the island of Caveat. Then one day, a ship arrives with a stubborn captain, Cadence Chase. Chase is determined to collect a book that was presumably left with Viola and Wilmur when their parents abandoned them on the island. The siblings agree to give her the book in exchange for passage on the Calamary Rose.
Life at sea agrees with Wilmur, but Viola grows more suspicious by the day. She sneaks around the ship, trying to determine what secrets Chase is trying to unlock from the book. Meanwhile, the ship sails into more dangerous waters. A frightening attack leaves Chase and Viola stranded far away from the ship and the rest of the crew. Viola and Wilmur desperately want to find each other again, but a search across the vast ocean seems futile.
Even though she doesn’t trust Chase, Viola follows Chase back to what she hopes is civilization. Wilmur tries to find a crew who will help him keep looking for Viola. Both siblings will have to overcome a great deal of danger as they try to find a way back to each other and fight to restore what has been broken.
The devil is mentioned.
Caveat residents put ashes in doorways and lamps in windows to keep out ghosts. A legendary figure named Scarlet Morning allegedly made a deal with the devil to rise from hell and has been given evil powers. Viola tells stories of eating hearts to buy the devil’s favor.
Viola stabs Chase in the hip to wake her up and keep her from going into the “void.” Omens are described. Luck is mentioned. Healers carry a variety of weird, gross objects and potions to try to help the dying.
Monsters and gods are mentioned. A woman called Sister Mauritia is nun for a pagan god called Cod. Christmas on the Calamary Rose is a time for eating dessert and singing sailing songs; it in no way celebrates Jesus’ birth. Viola visits a fortune teller.
Mogrim is a disturbing creature allegedly made up of many people who died in pain.
Hestur acts as a temporary guardian for Viola and Wilmur, but she doesn’t like children. And she disappears when they are 6 and 7, respectively. Viola and Wilmur believe their parents abandoned them on Caveat.
Hestur tells the children a story about Scarlet Morning. In the story, Scarlet kills people, drinks their blood and chews on their limbs. Scarlet allegedly shoots the queen. The story also mentions streets stained with blood and houses built with bones. Someone describes Scarlet’s alleged death. We also hear that Scarlet rose from the dead to kill her own murderer. Viola tells another story she heard about Scarlet cutting open a sailor, filling him with lead and throwing him overboard.
The members of Parliament have Queensmen (soldiers loyal to the queen) hunt down and kill pirates. Parliament gets set on fire with everyone inside. Chase and another pirate have a sword fight. Chase slices her old friend’s throat. Chase fights sailors on a government ship. Several characters die.
Chase admits to killing another sailor. In a dream/flashback, Chase kills Queensmen during a violent battle. We hear about skeletons, and one ship is adorned with them. Viola reads about warships and people dying at sea. Wilmur thinks you can cut off someone’s head with a cutlass. Chase threatens Viola with a knife. Dead bodies are suspended in frozen waves. Disemboweled pirates are described.
The crew hunts and kills porps. A whale-like creature eats a sailor and attacks a ship. Chase describes killing and gutting a tiger. Chase and Viola find porp carcasses rotting. A cloud of evil seagulls attacks and gravely injures Viola. Birds attack and kill pirates in Viola’s dream.
One sailor hallucinates and throws himself overboard. At one point Chase gets frustrated and says she’s going to shoot herself.
Characters say “flog it” like a curse. The author of a book calls someone a “prick.” We hear about divorce.
Some of the Calamary Rose’s crew have tattoos. One character has many facial piercings. Wilmur gets a tattoo.
Sailors all drink a lot, and Chase gets noticeably drunk at one point.
Two male sailors were once a couple. One sailor uses they/them pronouns. A female first mate is in love with another woman. Another lesbian couple pretended to be heterosexual (with one pretending to be a man) so they could get married to each other. Two people kiss. In a flashback, a character appears to be seeing a married woman.
Why does Viola grow to trust Captain Chase? Who can you trust?
Why does Viola want to help Hail Meridian? Do you find it easy or difficult to help people who are suffering? Why or why not?
Viola tells Wilmur she’ll stick with him no matter what. Who are some people God has put in your life that you’d stick with no matter what? How can you build strong relationships with those people?
Scarlet Morning is a book full of fast-paced adventure. The plot is sure to keep the reader engaged, and many mysterious characters keep one guessing throughout the entire book. However, this story is very violent and quite graphic. Several LGBT lifestyles are portrayed in the book. And in parts, the plot seems too dark and scary for young kids.
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Book reviews cover the content, themes and worldviews of fiction books, not necessarily their literary merit, and equip parents to decide whether a book is appropriate for their children. The inclusion of a book’s review does not constitute an endorsement by Focus on the Family.
Rachel Pfeiffer serves as Editor of Focus on the Family Clubhouse magazine, where she acquires and crafts stories to entertain and disciple children. She graduated from Taylor University with a degree in professional writing and Moody Theological Seminary with an MA in Biblical Studies. When she’s not curled up with a good book, she can often be found hiking the beautiful Colorado Rockies.
