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protoman21's review
4.0
Certainly a fun series! The end with JJ was pretty cool, but I didn't exactly like the way the others were rescued. It felt a bit anti-climatic. Maybe it wouldn't have been realistic to have them sail all the way to safety on the raft, but to have them go to all that trouble for nothing felt like we were robbed. Still a fast good read by one of my favorite authors!
coinchantal's review
4.0
Nice ending to this book series. Although the ending was a little far fetched and out of the box, it was a good ending. Lots of adventures.
booksong's review
4.0
The thrilling conclusion to the Island series, this book doesn't slack off the action one bit. In fact, it pretty much increases.
Reunited with their lost friends, and with Will’s memory returned, there are new problems for the six castaways to face. Will, though his mind is back to normal, has now suffered an accidental gunshot wound to the leg. Moreover, the six have discovered an abandoned army base from W.W. II, and an atomic bomb, which was left forgotten after it was never deployed. With no medical help for Will’s leg, and the chance that the ruthless smugglers may discover and kill them any day, the castaways are thrown into the most desperate and suspenseful book yet. They must truly become a working team, and all of them must contribute their unique skills to keeping the group alive. But when it falls to J.J., the flaky movie star’s son, to save them all, will the kid who’s never taken them or their situation seriously be able to carry out his pivotal duty? A very satisfying ending to this riveting and inspiring series!
Reunited with their lost friends, and with Will’s memory returned, there are new problems for the six castaways to face. Will, though his mind is back to normal, has now suffered an accidental gunshot wound to the leg. Moreover, the six have discovered an abandoned army base from W.W. II, and an atomic bomb, which was left forgotten after it was never deployed. With no medical help for Will’s leg, and the chance that the ruthless smugglers may discover and kill them any day, the castaways are thrown into the most desperate and suspenseful book yet. They must truly become a working team, and all of them must contribute their unique skills to keeping the group alive. But when it falls to J.J., the flaky movie star’s son, to save them all, will the kid who’s never taken them or their situation seriously be able to carry out his pivotal duty? A very satisfying ending to this riveting and inspiring series!
shieldbearer's review
4.0
Island: Escape, the last part of Korman's adventure trilogy, may give away the ending with its title, but it manages to maintain the suspense until the end of the novel. Korman has many plot elements going on here- Will's bullet injury, JJ's insistence that their situation has been entirely staged by the company they set to sea with, the discovery of an atomic bomb from World War II on the island, smugglers, and the tension and dynamics within the group.
On nearly every review I have written for Korman's work, if not all of them, I have commented on his strong characterization and dynamics, and it really comes into full force in the last installment of Island. JJ Lane fills the typical "Spoiled rich brat" role, but his psychology is far from stereotypical. At first, JJ Lane can't come to terms with the events that have befallen them- partly because he knows that if all of this is real, then the captain's death was largely his fault and that he cannot deny the responsibility of that death. He and Lyssa were originally thought dead at the end of the first installment, but rather the two of them were in a lifeboat with emergency supplies and food, so they did not experience the hardships of thirst and sunburn like the other characters did. He spends the majority of the story in denial, but when the kids make a hard call to save the life of one of their own, JJ finally has to face reality. He knows that the reform company would not allow the children to proceed on the course they have chosen- if only for liability's sake, and the public firestorm that would ensue- so he finally accepts this is real. And when he does, JJ takes responsibility for his own actions and does what he can to serve everyone else on the island.
Korman's entire trilogy is excellently plotted and his character arcs are full and rich. Korman makes excellent use of the protracted length of the book and packs a lot in without making it feel rushed or overly dramatic. My one complaint is the ending. I believe it was a bit abrupt- there was only two pages worth of a denouement- but overall, this was an engaging, breathless read.
On nearly every review I have written for Korman's work, if not all of them, I have commented on his strong characterization and dynamics, and it really comes into full force in the last installment of Island. JJ Lane fills the typical "Spoiled rich brat" role, but his psychology is far from stereotypical. At first, JJ Lane can't come to terms with the events that have befallen them- partly because he knows that if all of this is real, then the captain's death was largely his fault and that he cannot deny the responsibility of that death. He and Lyssa were originally thought dead at the end of the first installment, but rather the two of them were in a lifeboat with emergency supplies and food, so they did not experience the hardships of thirst and sunburn like the other characters did. He spends the majority of the story in denial, but when the kids make a hard call to save the life of one of their own, JJ finally has to face reality. He knows that the reform company would not allow the children to proceed on the course they have chosen- if only for liability's sake, and the public firestorm that would ensue- so he finally accepts this is real. And when he does, JJ takes responsibility for his own actions and does what he can to serve everyone else on the island.
Korman's entire trilogy is excellently plotted and his character arcs are full and rich. Korman makes excellent use of the protracted length of the book and packs a lot in without making it feel rushed or overly dramatic. My one complaint is the ending. I believe it was a bit abrupt- there was only two pages worth of a denouement- but overall, this was an engaging, breathless read.
penalew's review
3.0
I read the first two in this series several years ago, but missed the third. It was pretty much worth the wait though - not high literature, but fairly entertaining. I like it for my classroom because: it is short, it is part of a series, and it is suspenseful - three strong ingredients for reluctant readers.
stale_reviews's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
eitan743's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
mckenzierichardson's review
3.0
For more reviews, check out my blog: Craft-CycleWhile I absolutely loved the first book in the series, I feel like my interest level dropped as the series went on. The events just became too unbelievable. This was a good wrap-up to the series, but parts were just so dramatic and extreme that they kind of took me out of the story.The book was still well-written, but I missed all of the interesting information given in the first book about ships, marine life, and survival techniques. My general impression was that there was less of that in this one. Still a good read, but after how much I enjoyed the first one, this one fell a bit flat.This is still a great series for young readers, especially reluctant readers who may be incentivized by the quick pace and high level of adventure and suspense. Overall, a good series with a lot of interesting information. This was my least favorite, but it was still a good read.
sillymilly14's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was a fantastic end to a fantastic trilogy.