Review of Island Games

[Elisabeth Kunert]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Island Games" by Caleb J. Boyer.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Island Games, by Caleb J. Boyer, is an action-packed, fiction novel about two boys who wake up on a mysterious island with no memories of their past or how they got there, and no idea of how to leave. Readers follow best friends Ryan and Matthew as they overcome adventurous obstacles together, moving through the four quadrants of the island in hopes to find an escape.

Overall, I would rate this book 4 out of 5 stars. This book is an easy and enjoyable read. There was lots of action and adventure as well as themes of friendship and teamwork that emerged while reading.

This book gets a great rating due to the overall plot of the book. This story was adventurous from start to finish and kept readers guessing what would happen next. I like the overall theme of friendship and working together to overcome hardship that the boys learned while going through this journey. This book used themes from many other popular books for this age group and told the story in a more lighthearted way with a more positive theme.

There are two main negative aspects about this book that causes it to get less than a perfect rating. First, is that the book is not fully edited as there were errors found while reading. Second is that some parts of the story, mainly dialogue between characters, felt forced and did not develop naturally between the two boys. It was understood that the boys were best friends for a long time and had quite a history between them, but some of the joking around and sarcasm that occurred between the two of them felt as if it was trying too hard.

I would recommend this book for children in middle grades, including upper elementary school and middle school students. This book could serve as a read aloud in classes around those age groups as well. The content is appropriate for school and it could also provide inspiration to students to read from an author around their own age who was able to publish his own book.

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Island Games
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