Gwen feels powerless. Her parents don't understand her, and she's tired of her dad, Phil, taking her mom's side on everything. Phil loves his daughter, but he's focused on his own goals right now, ones that are bigger than his current position. When Gwen decides to steal a ship with a few friends and become pirates, Phil will have to decide what is really important to him while his daughter tries to find freedom.

Out of all the brilliant, moving, and unsuspecting novels I've read of Daniel Handler's, WE ARE PIRATES wins for leaving me the most stunned and unsure (in a good way). Handler makes the thought of becoming a pirate, something normally a little outrageous in California, into something so realistic, so heartbreaking, and so emotionally compromising. On the other side with Phil, his actions are so normal, almost awfully so, that his decisions become huge. The characters in this novel come to life in a way that might force readers to look at their own way of living and what lengths they would go to change it.

As often comes with dynamic characters, WE ARE PIRATES has more layers held inside than can be taken in after one reading. On the surface, readers will still get an emotionally charged and entertaining story, but the more thought that goes into the situations, the more bulge- level eye-opening will occur. Even before I hit the end, I knew this would be a story where each needed reread would only get more intense.

From Gwen's desperate need of freedom and a friend or two to Phil's disconnect with his family and even himself, WE ARE PIRATES provides readers with unforgettable characters. Daniel Handler continues to amaze as a writer, and there is no doubt that this book will stay on my favorite's shelf.