Review of Island Games

[Lorraine De Vos]

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

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4 out of 4 stars

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Island Games by Caleb J. Boyer is about the fantastic adventure that two young men undertake.

Matthew and Ryan wake up one morning only to find that they are no longer snug in their beds, but they are actually washed up on the shore of a mysterious island. To make matters worse, they have no memory of how they got there or of their actual lives. They do however remember each other and they hold on to that memory dearly. As they are forced to navigate a series of obstacles on the island to get rewarded with food and water, they learn a lot about themselves and grow stronger in their confidence, ability, and motivation to win the game. They face an ever-changing environment, gnarly beasts, starvation, and exhaustion, but they have an abundance of determination.

The author does a fantastic job of creating this fantasy island and the unique hurdles that the boys have to overcome. Written in a third person format, the reader is privy to the character’s thoughts and emotions, as well as their dialogue. The mystery of the island is maintained throughout the book, making it a true page-turner.

There are only two characters in the book, which makes it quite a remarkable feat that the story remains meticulously engaging. The character growth is substantial as they face each problem and work out the solutions together.

My favorite part of the book is the design of the island and the ambiguousness of the storyline. I also enjoyed how well the book was edited; I hardly found any errors that warrant a mention. The author is clearly meticulous in his work and an extremely talented storyteller.

With no profanity or explicit content, this book is safe for readers of all ages. There are mentions of monsters and dangerous situations, so I would not recommend it to readers that are sensitive to this. I believe the optimal age group would essentially be 12 and up.

I could not find anything I disliked about this book other than the cliff-hanger ending. As this is a personal preference to my reading experience and not something I can fault the author on, I am happy to give this book the highest possible score of 4 out of 4 stars. I will be following this author on his social media platforms, and I enthusiastically look forward to reading more of his work.

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Island Games
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