Survival
The Island trilogy, Book 2
Gordon Korman
Scholastic
Fiction, MG Action/Thriller
***+ (Okay/Good)
DESCRIPTION: Not long ago, they were six strangers, sent on a "character building" adventure aboard the schooner Phoenix in the Pacific Ocean. Now, stranded on an uncharted island, they're each other's only chance at survival. It seemed that getting off the deadly waters would improve their situation, but while there's food aplenty to be scrounged in the jungles and lagoons, there's no fresh water... and, worse, no sign of boats or planes or anyone else passing near enough to signal for help. Will is also suffering a form of amnesiac delusion, convinced he's been abducted and the others are out to get him. Then they learn that they aren't, in fact, the only people who know about the island - and the people who do know about it are not the kind of people they want to be found by. They're the kind of people who shoot companions in cold blood, let alone perfect strangers.
REVIEW: This continues the Island trilogy on the unnamed, uncharted desert island. The kids start coming together into a group for mutual survival, though friction still lies just under the surface. TV addict Ian finds his knowledge from endless hours parked in front of documentary TV shows coming in handy, while Charla's athleticism comes in very handy for snagging fish and knocking down coconuts and Luke finds himself thrust into a leadership role. The arrival of bad guys adds an extra layer of danger and dread, if a mildly contrived one. (One starts to wonder if J.J. has a bit of a point about it maybe all being staged.) It loses a half-mark for that sense of contrivance, plus drawing out Will's delusional isolation and J.J.'s obnoxious insistence on none of it being real. Still, it keeps the tension pretty high and sets up even more trouble going into the final volume.
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