Review by SurroundedByBooks -- Island Games
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SurroundedByBooks
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- Latest Review: Island Games by Caleb J. Boyer
Review by SurroundedByBooks -- Island Games
[Following is a volunteer review of "Island Games" by Caleb J. Boyer.]
Island Games: Mystery of the Four Quadrants by Caleb J. Boyer is an adventure story following high-school friends, Matthew and Ryan. They wake up on an island with no knowledge of where they are or how they got there. To survive, the boys realise they must work together to win challenges for food and items they need. Their only hope of leaving the island is by overcoming every obstacle placed in front of them.
I give this book 2 out of 4 stars. I know this seems harsh because the author was twelve-years-old when he wrote this book. However, any review must be about the book and not the author.
There were several things I liked about the book. The themes of teamwork and overcoming challenges in life is worth exploring for younger readers. Also, having the story progress like a computer game is an appealing idea. I liked the feeling that the boys go to another level after beating a challenge.
The book was edited well, but the writing suffered from a repetition of descriptors. The island locations are generic and simply described—this limits the age of the readers who will enjoy this book. I wish Boyer had let his imagination run wild with each new level they enter. The action felt unrealistic in places. For example, the beasts are depicted compellingly as fearsome monsters, and they are a worthy challenge when the boys encounter the first one. But the difficulty of fighting them doesn't increase when faced with many beasts attacking at once. Another example is when the boys have a snowball fight. And, not just a fight, it's described as an all-out war around a forest and lasting for what seems like hours. This is unlikely considering they just had a near-death experience, and how exhausted the boys are from their encounters on the island.
I also didn’t find the characters believable. It was great that they were distinguishable from each other, and I liked that Boyer worked hard on describing their friendship. But their thoughts seesawed between being incredibly self-aware for their age to stupidly juvenile. Their constant bickering wasn’t enjoyable, and the running jokes became tiresome. It made it hard to root for them to succeed, and I felt more like an observer.
My biggest gripe is the book is full of questions that never get answered. For a child reading this book, I think it would be incredibly frustrating. My son asks me any number of questions daily, and he is never satisfied if I don’t find answers for him—that dissatisfaction is the feeling most readers will get at the end of the book. A reader should be rewarded with why things happen when they invest time in a story.
This book would suit younger readers who enjoy adventures. Nothing here is too scary, and they might enjoy the levelling up nature of the story. Anyone older will probably find the story too simple to be engaging. It's a fine achievement for Boyer to write this book at such a young age. Just finishing a story of this length eludes many much older writers. I hope he continues to write and publish stories.
******
Island Games
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Island Games: Mystery of the Four Quadrants by Caleb J. Boyer is an adventure story following high-school friends, Matthew and Ryan. They wake up on an island with no knowledge of where they are or how they got there. To survive, the boys realise they must work together to win challenges for food and items they need. Their only hope of leaving the island is by overcoming every obstacle placed in front of them.
I give this book 2 out of 4 stars. I know this seems harsh because the author was twelve-years-old when he wrote this book. However, any review must be about the book and not the author.
There were several things I liked about the book. The themes of teamwork and overcoming challenges in life is worth exploring for younger readers. Also, having the story progress like a computer game is an appealing idea. I liked the feeling that the boys go to another level after beating a challenge.
The book was edited well, but the writing suffered from a repetition of descriptors. The island locations are generic and simply described—this limits the age of the readers who will enjoy this book. I wish Boyer had let his imagination run wild with each new level they enter. The action felt unrealistic in places. For example, the beasts are depicted compellingly as fearsome monsters, and they are a worthy challenge when the boys encounter the first one. But the difficulty of fighting them doesn't increase when faced with many beasts attacking at once. Another example is when the boys have a snowball fight. And, not just a fight, it's described as an all-out war around a forest and lasting for what seems like hours. This is unlikely considering they just had a near-death experience, and how exhausted the boys are from their encounters on the island.
I also didn’t find the characters believable. It was great that they were distinguishable from each other, and I liked that Boyer worked hard on describing their friendship. But their thoughts seesawed between being incredibly self-aware for their age to stupidly juvenile. Their constant bickering wasn’t enjoyable, and the running jokes became tiresome. It made it hard to root for them to succeed, and I felt more like an observer.
My biggest gripe is the book is full of questions that never get answered. For a child reading this book, I think it would be incredibly frustrating. My son asks me any number of questions daily, and he is never satisfied if I don’t find answers for him—that dissatisfaction is the feeling most readers will get at the end of the book. A reader should be rewarded with why things happen when they invest time in a story.
This book would suit younger readers who enjoy adventures. Nothing here is too scary, and they might enjoy the levelling up nature of the story. Anyone older will probably find the story too simple to be engaging. It's a fine achievement for Boyer to write this book at such a young age. Just finishing a story of this length eludes many much older writers. I hope he continues to write and publish stories.
******
Island Games
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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Latest Review: Island Games by Caleb J. Boyer
