I've never read Treasure Island (the original one), but after reading this, I don't think it would measure up for me... this book was SUCH a blast. It's got pirates, high seas, Asian rep, LGBTQ+ rep, and some slow-burn romance interspersed with sword fight scenes that are amazingly bad-ass. It does start off a tiny bit slow, but I feel like that's par for the course when you're learning about the world that the author is building. And it turned out super worthwhile because I felt really connected to Xiang and her struggles throughout the rest of the book. If you're ready to go on an adventure, definitely try out this book. Also loved learning about the real life inspiration behind the book, a Chinese pirate queen named Cheng Shih. I even fell into a bit of a wiki/google rabbit hole after finishing this book because I was so curious about her!