Escape
The Island trilogy, Book 3
Gordon Korman
Scholastic
Fiction, MG Action/Thriller
**** (Good)
DESCRIPTION: First the storm and explosion destroyed the schooner Phoenix, where their parents had sent the six troubled youth to learn life skills. Then the island that was their salvation from death at sea turns out to be a meeting spot for dangerous smugglers. Now they've discovered a new danger - a top secret atomic bomb from World War II - hidden on the island. Plus one of their own, Will, has a bullet wound to the leg, which could easily turn septic in the tropical heat and germ-ridden jungle. With odds of rescue via passing ship or plane essentially nil and Will getting sicker by the day, Luke and the others are pushed to a desperate plan, a Hail Mary plan that will either get them help, or get them all killed.
REVIEW: The third and final Island installment finally brings all the kids together in the same reality; Will rejoins his sister and the others after his self-imposed exile and J.J. finally has to shake off his persistent belief in "rigged" events and hidden cameras (which even he was starting to admit to himself was more about the fantasy of safety just around the corner than actually believing some hidden camera crew and project director would let them nearly die on multiple occasions to build character in wayward children) and step up to the plate to help his fellow castaways. Using equipment and drugs scavenged from the old military base, the kids struggle to survive, but each of them understands that they're only putting off the inevitable if they can't find a way off this island. Their plan involves putting one of them in immediate peril in the off chance that doing so will result in survival for all, but it's a long shot, and they all know it. The stakes have never been higher, and it comes together in a thrill ride of a climax and a conclusion that doesn't overstay its welcome. Overall, the Island trilogy's a decent, fast-reading tale of survival and danger.
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