This was an ebook title that intrigued me on the library site, and wasn't checked out like all the other ones were!Unfortunately, it's only mediocre. Not a book anyone older than a kid would get much enjoyment out of.Pete is the narrator and the leader of a group of five kids. One guess what the gender makeup of that group is. Who have somehow ended up on a ship designated as a 'pirate school'. The exact background and concept is never sufficiently explained to me.They're not actually taught anything, because Rotten Tooth, who's supposed to be teaching them, would rather not be teaching them, so he just makes them do chores. So they're all setting out to prove they're worthy of being real pirates and taught to be so, and not just do chores. (What do they think pirates do all day on a ship anyway?)While there are girls, there's not a lot of challenging of gender stereotypes going on here. One is a girly girl who's afraid of icky things, snakes, bugs, etc. The other is a twin whose defining characteristic is that her hair is longer than her brother's. The adult pirates that are mentioned are all male. Until a little bit at the end.Concept of a pirate school? Awesome. Execution? Lousy. ( )