Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder

2017 Copyright MG

Genre:  Fantasy

Grade Level: 3^rd – 7th

Reading Level: 4.3 (9 points) 288 pages

Publisher: Walden Pond Press (May 30, 2017)

My Rating: 4 out of 4

Readability: Easy to read, fascinating!

MHL Division: Crossover

Summary: 

On the island, everything is perfect, but each year, a boat arrives with one new child and takes the oldest child away.

9 children live on an island without any adults. The oldest child is the elder and takes care of the youngest child. When the boat comes, about once a year, the oldest child leaves, and a new child comes. A new elder takes their place. Every other year a boy and then a girl come to the island and there seems to a rhythm in this process. Throughout the year the children live in their own cabins, forage for food, play, read, hunt and live in a wonderful island community. In this story, the eldest girl, Jinny, decides not to get on the boat when it is her turn.  The balance of the island starts to change and trouble begins to brew.

This book has an ending that some have really hated. I didn’t mind that everything is not wrapped up for us. There is a somewhat dream-like mystical state to this book and I found myself wishing I could live on this island too.  You can also start to understand the fable like quality. Perhaps this is an expression of what childhood might be like and the island gives us this wisdom. Read this book….it is fun to imagine this life…and what it really means.