This story
tracks the childhood of the Wil Newton, whose family moves from a busy urban
environment to the solitude of a rural area.
When he gets there, he explores his new home, where he finds an island
that he regularly visits. On this island
he takes time to reflect on his own thoughts and discover himself. This is where he spends time making
discoveries about nature, animals, as well as a girl named Susan. Symbolizing his own emotions, Wil finally
decides to show Susan his journals where all of his discoveries and thoughts
were listed.
Nature and
the island in particular serve as Wil’s escape from the realities of his life
back in the town. The island remains
untouched and isolated from everyone going on around it; therefore Wil finds
comfort in becoming his own island where he can escape his father and problems with
the local bully Ray Bunner. Only when
Ray discovers Wil’s island is Wil’s solitude and escape tampered with, and he
must make a move to come to terms with his reality.
This novel
is a strong candidate for middle school literature, especially with the inclusion
of family issues and bullying. Bullying
is a tragically common routine in many students’ lives, and this book creates a
great example of how a child can stand up to adversity and defeat it. I also enjoyed the use of journal entries in
the book because it adds a fresh format to the usual reading routine.
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