3 out of 4 stars
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Island Games: Mystery Of The Four Quadrants by Caleb J. Boyer
Island Games is a fiction novel written by a twelve year old boy. Matthew and Ryan find themselves on a deserted island without any knowledge of how they got there and where the came from. The only thing they remember is that they are best friends and that they were hanging out together before they ended up on the island. After they realize what happened to them it becomes an instant struggle for survival. They have to find food, water, shelter and hopefully a way of the island, in constantly changing climates and during dangers that threaten their lives and even their friendship.
What I really liked about this book is the constant excitement the author throws at the reader. The story jumps from one adventure to the next which makes it an excellent book for teens around the age of 13. Although I would definitely recommend it to adults as well. I also really liked the fact that the story is all about friendship and working together.
But the thing that really stood out to me, was the fact that the author focuses on the importance of confidence and having a positive mindset in the eye of challenges. And teaches the reader that it's important to see yourself succeeding a difficult task rather then to tell yourself you wouldn't be able to do it. This is something I myself still find difficult to do at times in my life so it's incredibly impressive to have this insight at that young age and it's a great message to give to children and adults reading the book. It's not something that dominates the book but it subtly gets thrown in the story.
Although I really liked the book and I read it in only a few days there were a few things that I didn't like about the book. One of them was that I felt the story was a bit rushed at times. There where a lot of things happening in the book and it moved so quickly from one thing to the next that I feel the reader doesn't really get a chance to immerse themselves into the scene. I would have liked to get more details about their surroundings and also about the boys themselves. The book doesn't mention the age of the boys so when I started reading I imagined them to be much younger then I think they were. At one point the author mentions their height and that gives a better indication on their age.
I'm giving the book a rating of 3 out of 4 stars because I also felt the way it was written was a bit repetitive. Not the things that were happening in the story itself but more the amount certain words and sentences are being used.
Overall I really liked the book and I would definitely recommend this book for a read if you like a fast paced adventure novel with very powerful lessons hidden in the story.
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Island Games
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