Mystery

I believe I first read this trilogy in grade school from one of those scholastic book catalogs. I loved the series at the time, and still enjoyed it as an adult. Its a fun and exciting adventure story with twists and great characters. ( )

I have my 4th grade teacher to thank for reading this book aloud to us in class...the adventure immediately swept me up.

Luke Haggerty is on a boat trip he never wanted to be on...a correctional journey for problem kids that need work to whip them into shape. But Luke is innocent, falsely accused of stashing a gun in his locker. His fellow crew members are no better off...Will and Lissa, whose sibling rivalry is ferociously violent, Ian, who watched too much TV, Charla, who was too into sports training, and JJ, the spoiled movie star's son. But when circumstance throws them together, not only on the boat journey but on a terrible shipwreck, they are going to have to get along and use their unique talents, or die.

The parts at the beginning are a little slow, but everything picks up from there, and the other two books continue this exciting saga. Gordon Korman is great at writing these adventure tales, making sure that his characters are strong, but still very real.

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Six kids board the Phoenix in Guam, but not because they are going on a fancy boating trip. They’re all there for one reason- because they have a lesson to learn. Their parents or the court system has decided that the Charting a New Course program is what they need. A month on the water learning to sail and getting in touch with nature is expected to change all of them. Lyssa and Will are siblings, but JJ, Charla, Ian, and Luke have never met. Getting to know each other is better than any time spent with the first mate, who barks at them all the time and seems angry by everything they do. After a terrible storm sends the captain overboard and the ship starts taking on water the kids realize they are in way over their heads. Waking to find the first mate has taken the life boat and left them stranded makes them rise to the challenge. When an explosion causes the ship to catch fire and sink they must do what they can to survive. Only four of the kids are together and the fate of the other two is unknown. Did they get off the sinking boat in time? Staying afloat on a piece of the shipwreck is more work than the kids would have expected, and the thirst they have is like nothing they've ever known. Landing on what appears to be a deserted island seems like a stroke of good luck, but are they really alone? Do they have the skills to survive? Can the kids can be saved? Don’t wait to find out- go get this series!

If you like adventure and survival stories, and haven’t read the Island series by Gordon Korman, then I highly recommend it for both boys and girls. There are three books in the series: Shipwreck, Survival, and Escape. The books are perfect for anyone in fourth grade and up. Not only will you learn skills that may help you survive on your own, you will be amazed at the ways the kids learn to believe in themselves. With so many characters, there is sure to be someone readers will connect with, and reading about them makes you see that there's more to people than we think. I was rooting for the kids and felt worried, happy, sad, and scared for them throughout the book. I hope I am never in a situation where I am on a shipwreck, but it was entertaining to read about! ( )

Hard for a Q, but great story. Suspenseful and has complex characters. Figurative language, terminology and omniscient point of view make it a hard technical read, but very engaging. ( )