Island is a novel trilogy by Canadian author Gordon Korman. The books are written in 3rd person, set in contemporary times and designed for young teenagers.
Contents |
Plot summary
Island 1: Shipwreck
We are introduced to the six troubled children who are part of a new scheme called 'Charting a New Course', or CNC. They are sibling rivals Will and Lyssa Greenfield, framed bad boy Luke Haggerty, exercise addict Charla Swann, Discovery Channel-dependent Ian Sikorsky, and tearaway movie star's son J.J. Lane. All are Americans aged between 11 and 14. The project involves removing the children from luxury and forcing them to cope with hardship and problem-solving, on a ship bound for Guam. On the way a severe storm hits, seriously damaging the ship and killing the captain. They are abandoned by the ship's first mate, Mr. Radford, when the ship begins to sink. Luke, Charla, Ian, and Will find themselves deserted on an island after a week of drifting on a piece of wreckage from the ship. Lyssa and J.J. reached the same island by riding on a rubber raft that Mr. Radford had brought along on the trip. Charla is an exercise addict; her family lives in Detroit and her dad works three jobs just to pay for her sports. Lyssa Greenfield is almost constantly at war with her brother. Cracked ribs, melted computer disks, concussions and broken noses have come from their constant fighting. Lyssa is a straight A student and is really good with machinery. Will Greenfield is at war with his sister, Lyssa. Many reasons arose that made him feel incredibly resentful of Lyssa. Will ends up with amnesia in the second book and does not remember a thing about CNC. Luke Haggerty was framed for possession of a firearm on random locker inspection day. Ian Sikorsky is a TV addict, spending his time watching the Discovery Channel. J.J. Lane is the son of the world famous movie star, Jonathan Lane. His father sent him to CNC after he pulled a series of crazy stunts for attention.
Island 2: Survival
Ian, Charla, Luke, and Will wash up on the island, separated from J.J. and Lyssa. While Charla, Luke, and Ian are finding food Will wakes up with amnesia, having no memory of CNC, or the other castaways (other than Lyssa) he runs away into the jungle. The castaways hear a plane and go to the other side of the island to find it, only to discover that on board were illegal traders, who shot one of their own men. after a brief encounter with Will, who ran away, having no memory of them and thinking they were going to hurt him, Ian, Charla, and Luke go to find Will. Along the way they find J.J. and Lyssa, who had been living on freeze-dried food from the survival raft. In the jungle Will wakes up to find a boar. This prompts him to make a bow and arrow, with which he shoots the boar. However he only injures it, and it becomes a pet. On the beach the other castaways worry about the smugglers finding them, or Will, who doesn't know of the danger. In the jungle Will slowly begins to remember the events of the past few weeks, finally he runs onto the beach at the same time as the smugglers arrive, thankfully he is not seen, and after a fight between the boar, and the smugglers' rottweiler, which ends with the smugglers shooting and killing the boar and accidentally shooting Will in the leg. at the end of the book the smugglers finally leave. During a walk through the jungle J.J. falls into a pit, in which is an unused WWII atomic bomb, codename Junior.
Island 3: Escape
The pressure mounts when Will is shot and his life hangs on the balance. A plan is made to escape which involves J.J. stowing away in an enemy's plane with the hope that he might be ransomed to his rich father and then he can get the castaways rescued. When the smugglers find out about J.J., and he is caught and held ransom. J.J. soon finds out that he will get killed once the smugglers have their money. He tries to make an escape attempt which is successful (although he almost got ran over by a police cruiser). Meanwhile, on the island Will's fever from the infected bullet wound is getting higher and the castaways are forced to operate on Will with supplies from the army camp near the bomb. The operation is a success and the castaways prepare to escape the island by a boat. They sail for 6 hours before getting rescued by a US Marine scuba diver, who takes them on a helicopter where they find J.J. All are present when the scientists open up the Atom bomb and everyone is surprised when the Uranium core is not present in the bomb, replaced by a piece of paper with the words "KA-BOOM". After, they go to JJ's house where they hold a celebration.
