Dr. Franklin's Island [Hardcover]

Ann Halam (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 30, 2006

Semi, Miranda, and Arnie are part of a group of 50 British Young Conservationists on their way to a wildlife conservation station deep in the rain forests of Ecuador. After a terrifying mid-air disaster and subsequent crash, these three are the sole survivors, stranded together on a deserted tropical island. Or so they think. Semi, Miranda, and Arnie stumble into the hands of Dr. Franklin, a mad scientist who’s been waiting for them, eager to use them as specimens for his experiments in genetic engineering.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"When something terrifically terrible happens to you, I think your brain doesn't get it, for quite a while. You go on trying to see the world the way it was, even when common sense should tell you that everything has changed forever."

Semirah Garson is certain that nothing could ever be more horrific than what she has just lived through: a plane crash in the middle of the ocean followed by the shocking discovery that she and the other survivors are stranded on an apparently deserted island with no Target or Taco Bell in sight. But she's wrong. Because no matter how hard it is for Semi, Arnie, and Miranda to bear the sun, snakes, and fading hope of rescue, it's nothing compared to what Dr. Franklin has in store for them. It's his private island they've had the misfortune to land on. And it's his private hell they'll have to endure. Dr. Franklin is too old to test his theories of animal gene therapy on himself. He needs resilient teenage bodies that have already proven they can handle great trauma. Semi's always wondered what it might be like to breathe underwater. She just never imagined she'd know firsthand....

Veteran science fiction author Ann Halam has taken the framework of H.G. Wells's classic evolution parable The Island of Dr. Moreau and crafted an exquisitely wrought 21st-century update that plays on all our modern fears of test-tube clones and misguided medical ethics. Haunting, bold, and heartily recommended. (Ages 13 and older) --Jennifer Hubert --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Halam (aka adult SF and fantasy author Gwyneth Jones) delivers a nightmarish thriller of white-knuckle intensity. Semirah, the shy, self-deprecating narrator, is among a group of 50 British teen winners of a science contest who are on their way to work with conservationists in Ecuador. Disaster strikes quickly: before the first chapter ends, a plane crash (was it a foiled hijacking?) strands Semirah and two other survivors on a remote island. Slowly and surely, the author turns the screws as Semirah, in the company of smart, brave Miranda and dishonest Arnie, watches every plan founder. Arnie sneaks off on his own and, as Miranda and Semirah gradually realize the full horror of their plight, their misery and dread become almost palpable. But even the worst of their experiences seems almost idyllic when they finally find the island's inhabitants: the mad scientist Dr. Franklin and his terrified employees. Dr. Franklin can hardly wait to start performing his trans-species genetic-engineering experiments on human subjects, and Miranda and Semirah are to be his first candidates. The bogeyman had got us, Semirah realizes. Nothing could save us: but we didn't have to die screaming. The characterizations are even richer and more credible than the premise is outlandish, and Halam heightens the tension by thoroughly imagining each stage of the girls' reactions to Dr. Franklin's elaborate cruelties. Only the cathartic ending will free readers from this scary novel's inexorable pull. Ages 14-up.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Peter Smith Pub Inc (June 30, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0844672823
• ISBN-13: 978-0844672823
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 3.7 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,697,281 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a great book. Just read it., June 20, 2003

By 

Shell (somewhere) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dr. Franklin's Island (Hardcover)

Written By: Ann Halam
Cover Art By: Danilo Ducak
Published: 2002
Published By: Random House
Pages: 246
Extras: None

Summary:
The palm-fringed beaches on a tiny tropical island hide a terrible secret. Beyond the azure waters and white sand is Dr. Franklin's "hospital."
Miranda, Semi, and Arnie, survivors of a plane crash are about to become the doctor's next victims. He's been waiting for them. They're perfect subjects for his experiments in genetic engineering.

Cover Art Review:

It's pretty but boring. It does have something to do with the book, but you have to read the book.
Overall: 6 (1-10) Pretty, but boring.

Book Review:
If you're a girl, don't run from this book. Its not a guy's book. And guys, its not a girl's book. This a great book. I finished it in one day. Not because its short. Its just so good. It moved slowly. Your half-way into the book before the main plot starts. At the same time, it moved fast and slow. Slow doesn't mean boring though. Halam takes her time. She makes you like these chacters. In a way, it was like I was on the island with them. So when what happens, finally happens, you feel the same pain they feel. You know their joy, their fear, their pain. You're heart soars every time they break out, then breaks when they are recaptured. Everything they go through, you go through. Everything. Rarely, if ever, do I feel this feeling in a YA book. There is no happy ending, but there is an ending and one you'll be happy with. Really, it's the only way it could end/
Overall: 10 (1-10) This is a great book. Just read it.

Reviewer's Note: This book does have a plane exploding, and details about a few of the bodies that show up. There's nothing too graphic, just disturbing.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun sci-fi novel, April 13, 2003

By 

Traci D. Haley (Prineville, OR USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dr. Franklin's Island (Hardcover)

Dr. Franklin's Island was very much like a version of Dr. Moreau's Island for teens. I didn't expect to like it nearly as much as I did. From the very first chapter I found myself sucked in to the story and caught up in the action. I read in disbelief as Semi and Miranda learned of what was to happen to them. The book moves very quickly and, though the subject the book deals with is highly unbelievable, Ann Halam manages to write a very realistic - and horrifying - story of genetic engineering. I could seriously have nightmares after reading this book! The ending, I thought, was left a little bit open... so maybe we can look forward to sequels? Let's hope so!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Must Read, June 9, 2005

By 

J. M. Lake (Naperville, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dr. Franklin's Island (Readers Circle) (Mass Market Paperback)

This story is one of the few books in which you care so much for the characters that while reading the book you will want to yell out to the characters, telling them what to do. The realistic environment that Ann Halam creates is beautiful and yet scary when it needs to be. The only downfall of this book is that near the middle of the story it starts to go verily slow, but try to read through that and you will read an amazing story of friendship and courage.