Sea Legs by Alex Shearer

This is one of the funniest books I've read, because of the sarcastic, wise-cracking voice of Eric, the older (by 5 minutes) of a pair of British twins, telling the story. Eric and Clive stowaway on the cruise liner their father works on because they're tired of being left at their grandparents' while their father is at sea, being forced, as Eric says, to stare at their grandfather's "great big corduroy bottom" while he works in the garden. Many close calls where they are almost discovered ensue, especially after they run into Swanker (not his real name), a boy from their school, and convince his mother that their father is the captain, but doesn't like to acknowledge them while on board the ship to discourage kidnapping attempts. They are suspicious of a certain crew member they nickname Lumpy, and when the boat is taken over by pirates, they discover he is in cahoots with them. The boys, of course, become heroes. Review by Stacy Church