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A review by estel
The Coral Island by R.M. Ballantyne
3.0
I give it 3.5 stars. I read this book as a child and liked it; i read it again a little older and i really like it. The characterisations of Ralph, Peterkin and Jack are lovely. It's wonderful how they all get along and are so innovative and energetic, as young (?) boys are.
I liked the first half of the book best, where they set up camp and show their enterprising skills. It reminds me a lot of the, alas, long-lost and long-loved Swiss Family Robinson. (I WILL buy it again someday) Frankly, it was really cool. All those dreams of being shipwrecked on a beautiful tropical island just come to life here.
The second half of the book, dealing with natives and pirates, was a bit of a let down after the marvelous first half. No doubt it was exciting and more adventuresome in the traditional sense, but it lacked the fun and easy-going-ness of the first half. Perhaps if they had been combined somewhat instead of being rather ridiculously obviously separated, it would have been alright. It would probably have even gone well, since the first half tended to get just a little bit slow at times. As such, however, the contrast is slightly annoying and a bit jarring in fact.
In the end, it was a nice book. If you don't enjoy this sort of genre (swashbuckling in a sense, though more of an almost-childish fantasy) then you might want to skip it.
I liked the first half of the book best, where they set up camp and show their enterprising skills. It reminds me a lot of the, alas, long-lost and long-loved Swiss Family Robinson. (I WILL buy it again someday) Frankly, it was really cool. All those dreams of being shipwrecked on a beautiful tropical island just come to life here.
The second half of the book, dealing with natives and pirates, was a bit of a let down after the marvelous first half. No doubt it was exciting and more adventuresome in the traditional sense, but it lacked the fun and easy-going-ness of the first half. Perhaps if they had been combined somewhat instead of being rather ridiculously obviously separated, it would have been alright. It would probably have even gone well, since the first half tended to get just a little bit slow at times. As such, however, the contrast is slightly annoying and a bit jarring in fact.
In the end, it was a nice book. If you don't enjoy this sort of genre (swashbuckling in a sense, though more of an almost-childish fantasy) then you might want to skip it.