1 out of 4 stars
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Island Games: Mystery of the Four Quadrants book review.
Island Games is a, sometimes, fun and exciting adventure story involving two boys waking up on an island with fragmented memories and trying to survive. They meet many challenges and learn the value of teamwork and friendship along the way. There are some flashbacks and dream sequences that provide much needed background, both for them and for the reader. And there is a definite feeling that there is more going on than we or they can know. The ending is a bit abrupt, but I imagine it is setting up for a sequel.
The story, written by a twelve-year-old, is told from the point of view of a twelve-year-old. This makes it refreshing and interesting. As someone who was once twelve, it reminds me of what it was like to be that age. I am reminded of how the world looked and what I personally thought was important and why. It is also the author's first book and, as such, I expected it to be a little rough around the edges.
At times I was sucked into the story, enjoying what was happening and wondering what would happen next. However, there were other times when I was not. For this, I blame the editors. The author's mistakes are typical first-time author mistakes. What the editors should have done, what it was their job to do, was to take the author in hand and help him polish a promising story into something the readers would thoroughly enjoy. They did not do this.
There are some basic rules to writing fiction. They can be broken, but only sparingly and only when the effect is worth it.
The first rule: Write What You Know. The author did do this, he wrote an adventure story for twelve-year-olds where the heroes act, talk and think like twelve-year-olds. It is true that in one place he describes them as being about eighteen, but in the entire story, everything they do could have been done by twelve-year-olds.
The second rule: Show, Don't Tell. The author did not do this. The best way to show the reader a new element in the story is to have the characters encounter it naturally. It should show up, be used and then the story should move on. The worst way to introduce it to the readers is for the narrator (who is really the author) to tell the readers about it. Yet, that is what repeatedly happens.
For instance, in chapter 2,”They had originally planned to be rescued from the boat and didn't think about having to get back to shore. Now, they not only had to find a way to get to shore with their supplies, they had to find a way to get off the island without radio communication.” Yet we had already been told that the radio was destroyed, so this is obvious. This is just as distracting as a movie actor turning and addressing the audience directly.
The third rule: Don't Be Wordy. The author was wordy. In many cases he tells us about some new element in the story and then in the next paragraph has the character mention the same element. Thus we get told about it twice.
In Chapter 20, for example: “As Matthew refocused his thoughts back to the group of rocks he was examining, he realized the way the rocks were grouped, they almost looked like a bridge to the platform. He finally said to Ryan, 'I think what we are going to have to do is jump from rock to rock until we make it to that big rock closest to the platform.”
This same thing happens when the characters start drawing conclusions about their situation. Here, the author falls into the trap of moralizing and sermonizing. The author does have something he wants to say, and that's fine. But how he goes about doing it distracts from the story and irritates the reader.
Again in Chapter 20: “He then recognized that if he did stay in his warrior state all the time, he probably wouldn't survive very long because the feelings he had during those moments of fight were so intense. It just wouldn't be reasonable to live that way. In fact, it was almost exhausting, and he knew it wasn't sustainable.” This goes on for a couple more paragraphs and could have either been left out entirely or perhaps rewritten in a way that is less obvious and does not stop the story for about a page.
Once again, the plot and the characters are good, and it had the potential to be a three star story. But because these mistakes were not caught and corrected by the editors, a story that could have been a fun read instead became a hard slog that left me with a headache. Unfortunately I can only give the story 1 out of 4 stars.
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Island Games
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