She becomes part of a gang which acts as her family, but when the father figure of the gang dies, Mary becomes sick of her life as a beggar. Mary decides to dress in men’s clothes and she sets out for a better life with the new name Jacky. This starts Jacky on her many adventures and shapes her for the life she will eventually have.

This book can teach us many qualities. Such as if we learn to accept people who are different than ourselves maybe we can learn things from them. Jacky proved very helpful and smart and although Jacky was thought to be a boy, if Jacky was shown as a girl she would not have been allowed on the ship. This all started after Jacky left London seeking a new job. She saw a gathering of boys looking for jobs as ships boys on a ship where only six would be allowed. Jacky was allowed on the ship after proving she could read. Jacky shows her smarts in many other ways on the ship. Jacky keenly keeps her “deception” and only one ship member noticed she was a girl without her telling him so. This was Sloat, who tried to rape her. Jacky kills Sloat, with the “deception” still intact, and gets away with it.
These happenings show qualities in Jacky that are very valuable.

The ship Jacky inhabits is searching for pirates to kill. Although pirates are only encountered once Jacky keeps tough and kills a pirate. This shows how, even though Jacky is a female she is still valuable to the ship. The most important part is that Jacky saves Jaimy, another ships boy who Jacky ends up falling in love with. Jacky and Jaimy are not the only ships boys; there are 4 others, Benjy, Tink, Willy, and Davy. Jacky is completely accepted into this gang because of her lies. Jacky fits in and uses this group as her new family. Instead of living in a gang in London, Jacky is now living on a ship where she gets three meals a day. L.A. Meyer shows us this,

…he reaches over and gets a shingle lyin’ by and plops a great hunk of steamin’ meat on it as well as a biscuit and says, “Half ration for ship’s boys.” I says, “Oh bless you, Sir, bless you,” and takes meself off, delirious with joy, and heads for a spot at a table. I gets the biscuit down me neck before I even gets to the bench and as soon as I’m down I attacks the meat, crammin’ its loveliness against me lips and chewin’ the fat and grindin’ the gristle and suckin’ up the hot salty juice and swallowin’ as fast as I can. (45)

This shows how pleased Jacky is with her new life and how tough she once had it in London. It also shows Jacky’s terrible manners and lack of life in normal society in her earlier years.

Despite Jacky’s troubled youth, she developed skills in sewing. Jacky sewed a uniform for herself and impressed the captain. The captain had Jacky make all of the ships boy’s uniforms, leading Jacky to showing Jaimy that she is a girl. She is making herself a dress and asks him to hold it up for her to mark it. Eventually a relationship between Jacky and Jaimy which develops complicates the “deception.” Throughout all this, the ship meets another pirate, La Fierve. They have a battle but do not kill La Fierve, he gets away. The H.M.S. Dolphin, Jacky’s ship is sinking and must get to land. They reach an island but the wood is weak and unworthy of being used for the ship. Jacky is flown up in a kite to see the land around island to see where better wood can be found. Instead of the intended plan, the kite that was attached to a tree lifts the tree out of the ground with Jacky still in the air. Jacky is towed in the air by the tree dragging in the water and the kite pulling it to a new land mass. Jacky makes a signal fire to attract her ship but also attracts La Fierve. The two crews meet and clash with the final result being Jacky is saved by Jaimy and all of La Fierves plunder is captured. Jacky shows her true gender and is still paid her share of the money. Jacky and Jaimy are not allowed together but it is decided the Jacky will be let off the ship when the chance is had.

This book can recommend to us that different types of people have different qualities to offer. Although Jacky is a girl she helps the ship greatly. She saves people, makes money for the crew, and also makes uniforms for her fellow ships boys. Confirming that everyone regardless of how they look or who they are may have important ideas that can help us all in things that we do.