2 out of 4 stars
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Ryan and Matthew wake up on a beach with no memory besides their friendship. They are stuck on an island that wants to kill them, unnatural creatures want to eat them, and an unknown organization wants to toy with them. Will the boys recover their memory? Who is doing this to them and why? What is the secret of the island? How are they going to survive the island? How are they going to survive each other? This is Island Games: Mystery of the Four Quadrants.
It’s difficult to review this book. The author, Caleb J. Boyer, wrote this book at the age of 12. Had I no idea, I would have guessed he was 15 or 16; his writing is advanced, but he still has a lot to learn. In fact, when reading the chapter “About the Author,” the allegory of the island is explained and I realized how much intelligent thought went into the story. However, this is not the next American novel.
The plot is simple, not poor or lazy, just simple. It starts on a beach (like all stories on an island), the protagonists explore the island, attempt to survive, get in trouble, work to fix it, repeat multiple times, have the characters learn a lesson along the way; climax and resolution. It is serviceable; young pre-teen boys can follow along.
One problem that plagues the plot is superfluous lore. As the island is explored, strange and unique elements are introduced, promising a deeper lore to discover. However, these elements exist only to move the story along and serve the book’s allegory. Most questions a reader has will not be answered in the book. If there is a sequel in the future, these questions might be answered, but if no sequel is released these bizarre moments exist to test the reader’s patience. Much like the characters.
Ryan and Matthew are the only characters in the story, and the narrative switches between both boys’ point-of-views. By the end, they are both likeable, but neither are anything special. While reading, my impression was they were interpretations of the author’s personality with mild changes. They both act 12 years old: both play football and video games, roast each other with stupid jokes, and have limited knowledge about wilderness survival. Realistic enough. Ryan is a quick thinker but impulsive, and has an immature, low-brow sense of humor. Matthew is protective but overly cautious, and has a dry, reactive sense of humor. Like the plot, preteens might like them, but adults might not.
I must dock a star off for the amateur writing and poor editing. By chapter 6 I was highlighting and noting every error in the book that bothered me. As previously mentioned, the boys act 12 years old, but we are never told how old they are and in chapter 2 we learn Ryan is 6’3 and Matthew is 6’0; either they had one massive growth spurt, or they are both very immature teens/young adults. In chapter 6, Ryan refers to himself in third person. The author uses words and phrases like “that,” “which,” “quickly,” and “were able to,” all of which, if removed, change nothing and quicken the pacing. The narrator said “he/they could not believe his/their eyes” so many times, I made a counting game out of it. Finally, there were numerous times when a character says something and the sentence continues with, “‘…’ he said as he etc.” This creates run-on sentences that can be solved by replacing “as he” with a period.
Pre-teens will probably like the book and give it praise, but I don’t recommend it for readers older than that. It was a tremendous feat to be published at such a young age, but Boyer has much more learn. I rate this book 2 out of 4. I have nothing but respect for Boyer. This book is incredibly flawed, but it’s a strong start, and not many can say they are published, let alone at 12. Boyer will go far with more practice. I wish Boyer the best and hope he keeps writing. With some time and some experience, I can see him surpassing many of the greats, but this won’t be the masterpiece he is remembered for.
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Island Games
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