Island: Book One—Shipwreck

Sylvia Pantaleo is an assistant professor of education specializing in
children’s literature at the University of Victoria. She is the
co-author of Learning with Literature in the Canadian Elementary
Classroom.

Meet the “troubled youth” who are to spend one month aboard the
Phoenix participating in a program called Charting a New Course: Luke,
who has been falsely accused of having a gun in his locker; brother and
sister Will and Lyssa, who constantly bicker and whose fights have
become increasingly violent; Charla, a gifted athlete suffering from
burnout; Ian, the youngest on board, who spends too much time watching
television and surfing the Internet; and J.J., the son of a movie star,
who has attracted excessive media attention through his delinquent acts.

Once Captain Cascadden, Mr. Radford, and the new “crew” depart
Guam, the children are immersed in learning how to operate and maintain
the ship. During a turbulent tropical storm, there is an accident and
Captain Cascadden is washed overboard. The children are devastated by
the loss of the Captain, and the situation is exacerbated by Mr.
Radford’s cruelty and meanness. Once Mr. Radford realizes the extent
of the Phoenix’s damage, he deserts the children in the middle of the
night. An attempt to start the motor results in an explosion and fire,
and the children must abandon the ship. Will, Luke, Charla, and Ian
locate one another and a piece of the galley roof, but they must take
turns floating in the water due to the limited space on the plank. Their
situation is desperate, and Will is in especially poor condition.
Finally, the castaways wash up on an island shore.

Korman has created a suspenseful survival story. The pace is quick and
the dialogue and sequence of events engage the reader. Book One
establishes the characters and “gets rid of the adults,” so that the
youth can face the challenges of surviving on the island in the next two
volumes of this trilogy. Highly recommended.