Everything you need to understand or teach The Island by Gary Paulsen.
The Island is the story of a crucial summer in the life of fifteen-year-old Wil Neuton. Uprooted from city, school, and friends when his father accepts a job in rural Wisconsin, Wil becomes increasingly self-absorbed.
His withdrawal is aided by an island which he finds in the middle of a nearby lake, and he begins to spend his days there. Eventually he stays through the night and remains for days on the island, wondering if he will ever go home.
To the island comes a parade of visitors: his recent friend Susan, his newfound enemy Ray Bunner, his parents, a reporter, a counselor, and a television news crew. To protect himself, Wil must fend them all off: Susan with kind words, Ray with his fists, his parents with determination, the counselor with scorn, and the journalists with clever retorts. None of them can understand what motivates him, until...