Fleischman, Sid. The Giant Rat of Sumatra or Pirates Galore

Fleischman, Sid. The Giant Rat of Sumatra or Pirates Galore. Greenwillow/HarperCollins, 2005 [0-06-074238-0]
It is 1846 and a 12-year-old boy is pulled from the sea by pirates and is nicknamed, Shipwreck. The ship lands on the California coast in what is still Mexico. His pirate captain buys land and sets up his ranch and since the US is at war with Mexico, Shipwreck (from Boston) must hide the fact that he is American. Now Shipwreck is stuck there and gets involved in mutineers, outlaws, old enemies and former friends of the captain. This 194 page book is written in the same adventure and fun spirit as Fleischman's other books. A note at the end of the book explains that this book is the last in a trilogy which started with "By the Great Horn Spoon."