Title: Orphan Island
Author: Laurel Snyder
Genre: Fantasy
Age: Middle Grade
Rating: 4.5
FULL REVIEW :
Orphan Island, by Laurel Snyder, is about a young girl, named Jinny, who lives on a perfect island where the sunset has pictures, and the 7 children inhabiting it live in almost complete peace. But, every year or so, a boat comes carrying the oldest, known as the Elder, away, and brings a new, young child. Jinny's best friend Deen is carried away, leaving her as the Elder, and with the new Care the boat brings. The Elders teach the Care, the new child, about everything. Jinny's Care is a little girl name Ess. Jinny not only teaches Ess, but Ess teaches her. Jinny begins to question whether she truly wants to leave in the annual boat.
The book goes deeper, and tugs at your heart, making you feel emotions for these characters. Everything is beautifully illustrated, giving you a real feel for the environment. I was personally a little angry at first at the author for being so ominous about the facts that you wanted to know. But eventually, when I sat back and truly appreciated it, the mysterious effect really aided the plot and emotion.
I'd recommend this book for elementary and up, not including Kindergarten, 1st, or 2nd since their ability to read it may be limited. The made up words could be potentially confusing, so I'd recommend you really stop and think about it using the context clues.
Personally, my favorite character was Eevie, the grumpy, teenagery, girl who had a hard time excepting the good things of life. In the author's note, the author mentions that she wished to write this book as a way to express her hardships at age 12 without directly going through her life. She observes this book as a representation of that time. In that context, Eevie ends up imitating the jerk or annoying person in your life. I find her character aggravating, and yet so unique.
I'd give this book a solid 4.5 stars, since it still did leave out somethings that I would of thought to be vital. However, some people would like being able to create their own ending for it.
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