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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
Fantastic premise but I found it hard to get through. Never really connected with any of the boys.
adventurous
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
An easy read (listen, in my case) with a unique story. Survival-esque, but not too sad. The narrator was lovely. Very interesting and I was impatiently waiting to find out if they found their way home!
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I wanted to love this more than I did. The story did not have a strong build to it,I mainly stayed with it because of the Scottish heritage and history. I must say though, this is a beautiful book to own, based on physical appearance.
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That's a picture of Stac an Armin, or Warrior Stac, the setting for this harsh story of survival. A stark, barren rock jutting 196 meters out of the cold, tempestuous Atlantic Ocean, it is the tallest sea stack in the British Isles and part of the remotest group of islands in Scotland. Isolated and difficult to reach, and populated only by sea birds. Most of the time. A few centuries ago, a small group of boys and chaperoning men were stranded there for nine months with nearly no supplies except their hardiness and wits. This is McCaughrean's imagined, harrowing tale of their ordeal.
Things start well enough for Quilliam and his group, dropped off for a week or three from nearby Hirta Island, where they live, by the village's one seaworthy boat, for a stint harvesting birds for meat, feathers, oil, and other uses. They'll scale the cliffs to hunt by hand with ropes, nets, and bags, sleeping in one of three caves depending on the height of their work the next day. They'll put in long hours of treacherous labor, hoping everyone is well when the boat returns in a couple of weeks--exactly when depending on weather and other circumstances. So they push themselves hard, knowing their families are depending on them and they'll get a well-earned rest soon enough. But then two weeks turns to three turns to four and on, and no boat ever arrives. They begin to wonder what happened and if they're the last people left on earth. Well, for now, because they know no one could survive a winter on Warrior Stac, yet if something doesn't happen soon that's exactly what they're facing.
This is a bleak, gritty book saturated with history, culture, and tradition. It's vivid and atmospheric and visceral, both the kind of tale to enjoy gathered around a comfy fire and one that makes you cold regardless of your actual warmth. The story's characters may be stoic and its setting desolate, but it has personality and life and beauty. Reading it is a stirring experience.
I bought this book for my son to read. He tried reading it and was like it’s so boring. He quit reading it. So I picked it up to see if it was that boring, yes it was. The beginning is very slow moving, it picks up a little in the middle and then it’s like ok, just give us the ending. The only reason I finished it is because it was the only book I brought on a weekend trip. There’s only so much to write about boys being stuck on an island made entirely of rock. And it was disappointing to find out that that is the only true part-boys stuck on an island. The rest is the author creating the story. I won’t be telling my son he needs to finish.
I am only giving this three stars because I think it's more of a general fiction title than YA. I thought this one dragged a bit for YA, but I definitely think it reads more literary than a traditional YA story. I decided to keep reading because of the literary symbolism--I really, truly enjoyed it. The English major in me had a great time with this book; plus, I learned a lot about a different culture and time period.
I don't know how many teens I would immediately rec this book to, but I would definitely consider it as a more contemporary book to teach in a high school setting for any teacher looking to get away from the usual canon. There's literally an innocent character who dies while gripping a fishing hook, being washed into the ocean's waves. You can't buy that kind of symbolic example.
I don't know how many teens I would immediately rec this book to, but I would definitely consider it as a more contemporary book to teach in a high school setting for any teacher looking to get away from the usual canon. There's literally an innocent character who dies while gripping a fishing hook, being washed into the ocean's waves. You can't buy that kind of symbolic example.
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Getting trapped on an island with no hope of rescue is my nightmare but I liked this book