People getting stranded on a deserted island has been done many times before across all media types. Thrown into the mix here is a school where sports outrank academic achievement and one race determines your place in the school hierarchy. If you lose, the other students treat and harrass you simultaneously like dirt and like a slave.
As a non-athletic person, my idea of sport is a marathon reading session so I too would be a Twelve (maybe an Eleven at a push). I did resonate with Link's predicament because I know what it's like to be an outsider and a geek.
However, as narrator, Link can be so pretentious at times. It puts me off a little bit when the narrator is arrogant. In addition, I spent a lot of time during the slow build up contemplating my Desert Island Discs choices rather than focusing on the story.
The Island by M.A. Bennett was good. The main reason for deducting stars, though, was that I don't like the message that comes across about bullying. It's a bit toxic. I can't believe it seems like the adults turned a blind eye and even condoned it. Bullying is NOT OK and does have consequences.
So, that's -0.5 for the arrogant narrator, -0.25 for slow start and -1 for handling of bullying. Oh, and -0.25 for unoriginal stereotypes. A 3 star book (I'm probably being a bit generous)
As a non-athletic person, my idea of sport is a marathon reading session so I too would be a Twelve (maybe an Eleven at a push). I did resonate with Link's predicament because I know what it's like to be an outsider and a geek.
However, as narrator, Link can be so pretentious at times. It puts me off a little bit when the narrator is arrogant. In addition, I spent a lot of time during the slow build up contemplating my Desert Island Discs choices rather than focusing on the story.
The Island by M.A. Bennett was good. The main reason for deducting stars, though, was that I don't like the message that comes across about bullying. It's a bit toxic. I can't believe it seems like the adults turned a blind eye and even condoned it. Bullying is NOT OK and does have consequences.
So, that's -0.5 for the arrogant narrator, -0.25 for slow start and -1 for handling of bullying. Oh, and -0.25 for unoriginal stereotypes. A 3 star book (I'm probably being a bit generous)