Girl Island by Kate Castle is a YA action, adventure novel that’s a cross between Lord of the Flies and Mean Girls. It’s even got a romantic subplot, so there’s a little something for everyone.
Still recovering from her father’s death, seventeen-year-old Ellery sets off on a new adventure. She’s been awarded a scholarship to a prestigious private school partly due to her impressive skills in the heptathlon. Before she’s even introduced to any students, she’s on a plane to a competition in the Maldives.
It only takes her a minute to evaluate the seven students traveling with her. There are the mean girls, the studs, the dork, and to her surprise – her ex best friend. They all seem to be as wary of her as she is of them.
When they are forced to make a crash landing into the ocean, they wash up on a small, deserted island. The two boys decide to swim to the nearest island to look for help. It’s not long before the girls’ true natures rise to the surface, and they break into two factions. It’s a struggle to survive, but it turns ugly when resources become scarce.
As the girls’ worst traits consume them, Ellery begins to wonder if they’ll survive.
Pros And My Favourite Parts
Castle does a lovely job bringing the island to life. It’s as important a character as each of the girls stranded on it. Finding island resources to stay alive becomes the only goal for each day. I thought it was interesting watching the girls figure out how to sustain themselves from one day to the next.
Watching one group of girls lose their humanity provides plenty of drama. It made me reflect on my own teenage years and ask myself if I’d have gone along with the popular girls or been strong enough to stay true to myself.
Cons And Heads Up
I’m not going to say Girl Island is predictable, but it doesn’t take long to understand how the plot is going to play out. That’s how a traditional romance works though, so don’t hold it against this YA novel.
The Conclusion
This is a quick and easy read. It’s sad and empowering at the same time. It’s exciting to watch Ellery and her group work in cooperation to sustain themselves. They put the group ahead of themselves resulting in a livable existence that’s somewhat free of fear. On the other hand, it’s disappointing to see the other group behave like every bad stereotype about teenage girls. It’s an exciting adventure with queer representation, and the book highlights the adversity the young women are able to conquer.
Excerpt from Girl Island by Kate Castle
All at once, the utter ridiculousness of our situation hits me hard – a group of seventeen-year-olds trying to land a plane in a storm, in the middle of the Indian Ocean, on top of the ocean – and an inexplicable urge to laugh bubbles up inside me. But there’s no getting away from this. One way or another, I have ended up here, with these people, in this moment. I have no choice but to see it through.
“Go hard or go home, Ellery,” Dad’s voice says in my head, as clearly as if he’s standing right next to me.
I reach underneath Miss Ramsay’s empty seat and pull out a life jacket, tearing the package open and pulling the flat yellow vest over my head. I tie the straps tightly around my waist and step into the cockpit. Holger looks at me and we nod at each other. Slowly, I pull back on the lever in the panel above our heads. He pushes forwards slightly on the yoke and the plane tips downwards into a shallow descent. The aircraft judders and jumps as we fly lower, but this time our approach feels better; less speed, more control. I’m sure there’s probably something else we should do controls-wise, but I have no idea what it might be and neither does the boy next to me. Whatever we are doing seems to be working all right so far.
“Gonna try to get us a bit closer to that island,” says Holger, turning the yoke a little to the right.
I watch the long stretch of tree-lined sand ahead of us move around until it’s almost in the centre of the windshield, then he levels the controls again. Gradually, the sea below rises to meet us. For one brief moment, I’m grateful that we aren’t coming in to land on solid ground. Then I remember that Dawkes can’t swim. And, at the moment, neither can Miss Ramsay.
“Almost there. Strap yourself in!” Holger says.
“Wait!” I say and pull the throttle all the way backwards. The engine noise falls until the propellers cough and splutter and, eventually, stop turning. I stumble back into Miss Ramsay’s seat, buckling myself in tight.
“Brace yourselves!” yells Holger.
For what feels like a lifetime – with no sound but the wind, the ringing in my ears and my heart thumping wildly in my chest – we glide down towards the waves.
Just as I think it’s never going to happen, the plane bounces once – hard – and we leap up off the surface of the ocean. For a moment, it’s as if time stops as we are suspended in mid-air, waiting for the second impact. As we descend from the bounce, the plane’s nose tips forward and we hit the water at too steep an angle. There’s a loud crunch from underneath us as the floats crumple. The nose ploughs into the ocean, cracking the windshield. A split-second later, the aircraft flips upside down, coming to a complete stop so hard and so sudden that it takes my breath away.
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Bits and Bobs
ISBN number: 9781916903135
Publisher: Dark Horse Publishing
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