Customer Reviews

Island

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The boy goes out to a small island almost directly in the center of a lake by his new home where he doesn't have any friends yet.While he is out there he draws and paints.But then a girl comes, and he becomes friends with her.Then back in civilization,people find out about him being by himself on an island,and news reporters come and everything changes.
This book lets you get into all of the boy's emotions and everything he thinks.He experiences new things and learns new things about himself and life.

Aaron Dolezal P. 3

Amazon.Com Response

If you like a book that is chock full of imagery and a plot that slowly develops throughout the story. Then, The Island by Gary Paulsen published in 1986 is for you. Every single one of Paulsen's books is amazing and the way he writes just brings you right into the story and makes you a part of it. The Island is widely available just about at any bookstore. I recommend picking it up! In addition, Paulsen does something special in this book with the main character Will Neuton. At the beginning of each chapter, he includes quotes from Wil Neuton that foreshadow the oncoming of the chapter or reflect on things back in his hometown. The quotes seem to further the story and add more meaning and depth to it.

The genre of the book is a mixed bag of adventure, comedy, and a bit of romance thrown in there. When, Will meets a local girl from the area and as the story goes on. They fall in love but a wrench is thrown into it when Will finds the island but, I do not want to give too much away so I will stop there!

I've noticed in all of Paulsen's books he likes to have a slow moving plot they slowly develops with each chapter, ending with a big payoff at the end of the book. That style I have come to love in Paulsen's books. This helps to keep the reader interested throughout the book. The Island in three sentences eh? Well, it starts with Will Neuton and his parents living in Colorado. Then, unexpectedly his dad comes home and says they have to move to Wisconsin. Will objects but it happens anyway. Then, one day Will stumbles onto the Island and he is drawn to it throughout the book but his parents think he is becoming crazy. I think the parents serving as a protagonist to Will and The Island works well because they're very real dissension's that parents and kids go there everyday. Therefore, anyone could relate to this book!

The way Paulsen writes adventure into book increases the reader's chance of becoming interested in the story and relating to it more. Mary Tyrese banks, author of Indian in the Cupboard to me does not do a good job of writing adventure into books. She seems to put useless detail in place that is NOT needed. Also, the adventure seems to jump around from place to place in the book and it seems to have no order and meaning to it all. It seems like she just threw it in there and said ok this looks good.

The Island is one heck of a model for writers of all ages. Paulsen has a distinct style to his work that could not be duplicated by anyone. In addition, the way Paulsen has used two word titles for many of his books helps to get readers interested. For example, when I first saw the Island a slew of images came into my head, and it made me want to pick up the book up and check it out. In addition, as you can see I ended up loving it and Paulsen became my favorite author. The plot of the Island could be easily related to by anyone that has been a kid so everyone could relate to this book. Everyone has gone through dissension with their parents and wanted to get away from them for awhile. In short, that is what the Island is all about. One quote that stands for the Island? " The island sat in the middle of the lake waiting for Will and it seemed to find him." It is amazing how Paulsen give human qualities to the Island almost as if it is a long lost sister waiting him for him to come home.

The Island is defitnely for everyone. If you want to feel like a kid again then read The Island! If you love adventure and feel like nobody is going through what you are going through with your parents then read the Island. Or, if you just love a book with exceptional imagery and a slow developing plot then the Island is for you!

IMAGINE HAVING A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN RELAX AND GET OUT OF TROUBLE. THIS HAPPENED TO A FIFTEEN-YEAR-OLD BOY, WIL. HIS FATHER WORKS FOR THE HIGHWAY DEPARTMENT AND THE COMPANY OFFERED A NEW JOB OUTSIDE OF THE CITY. HE ACCEPTS IT. ONE DAY WIL WAS RIDING ON HIS BICYCLE WHEN HE SAW A ISLAND THAT WAS LIKE A MAGNET TRYING TO ATTRACT HIM TO IT. HE FINALLY GOES TO THE ISLAND HE RELAXES, PAINTS, AND WRITE ABOUT NATURE THE MOVEMENTS OF THE ANIMALS AND FILLINGS.

IM A GARY PAULSEN FAN BUT I THINK THAT THIS IS NOT ONE OF HIS BEST WRITTEN BOOKS. I SPECIALLY RECOMMEND THIS BOOK FOR PEOPLE WHO LIKE NATURE AND THE POWERFUL AND COLORFUL, PAULSEN WRITING.

The Island is a great story and it has more meaning to it than most books do. Wil Neuton's parents aren't getting along that great and they just moved to a new neighborhood and it might not be the last time they move. Wil befriends a girl before he takes a trip to the island and they become real close, but don't get me wrong, that's only a small part of the story. The main theme about the story is Wil finding an island a piece from his family's new house and becoming instantly attached to it. Wil likes the island because it gets him away from all the tension of his parents' fighting and the bullies. While there, he discovers himself a lot more and also many things about nature. He writes about and paints many scenes from the island.

For some reason, this island is nothing like any place he's ever seen before. The birds, fish, and everything about it are so good that they're beyond describing. But the best part about it is that it is real peaceful on the island. He does have some visitors from time to time. The girl he met comes to see him and lets him know what's happening around the house and especially some information on what the town bully who likes to beat up all new visitors is saying. Yes, the bully eventually comes to take a visit and have a little fight. But most important of all, Wil goes home one day and tells his parents about the island and tells them he wants to stay there indefinitely. His parents are worried so they hire a psychologist to interview Wil on the island.

All in all, The Island is in my opinion the best Gary Paulsen book I've read so far and one of the best books I've ever read period. Going through a divorce when I was 8 and now still seeing my mom suffer from my abusive stepdad, I understood why Wil would want to go to an island to get away from all the turmoil. I think everybody wishes they could just be alone and away from all the troubles in their life from time to time. After reading The Island, you'll wish you had your own island to go stay on. The Island tells a great story all the way through. If you're a nature lover, it'll be even better. It's hard to believe that a book this great is so cheap, I recommend everyone to buy it no matter what the price is.

Wil Neuton, the main character, goes out to this island that he has found. Many people start to think he is crazy until they listen with an open mind, and forget what society says. Others say this book is boring because it doesn't have many adventure scenes, but there are adventure scenes, just not of the normal sort. That is what makes this book so good. They are the adventures of watching something and learning what it is, not because someone told you or you read it in a book, but because you watched it and learned what it meant to you. They are adventures of the mind and that is when you truely learn the most. That is what Wil does, he watches the animals on the island, thinks about people he knows, and thinks about things he kind of ignored before. While Wil does this, he starts to learn more about himself and doesn't want to leave the island until he has figured it out, for fear he will lose some of it if he leaves. Overall, this book is a good book if you read it with an open mind and are at that stage in your life that you are trying to figure out who you are.

The Island, is mainly about 15 yr. old Wil's observations on the island. Wil's family, consisting of him and his parents move from Wisconsin to Minnesota because of his father's job. Wil goes out biking 1 morning which is when he first discovers the island, and 1 of his only friends in Munnesota, Susan. The book follows with Wil continuly going to the island and seeing Susan. This book is kind of like a story in a story because even thoug it was written by Gary Paulsen, there are little paragraphs at the beginning of each chapter that are supposedly written by Wil, also as he starts spending more time on the island, he writes storys about things that he sees, and that can get kind of boring. All in all this book has many insights on nature, but lacks the excitment that books like Hatchet, and The River have.

THE ISLAND is one of Gary's more philosophical books. Although I also think it has some of his funniest material-- second perhaps only to that of "Notes from the Dog". But in any case, readers of this review should take note that there is not much in the way of adventure in this book. Which is to say that it belongs on the Young Adult shelves and not those in the Juvie section.


The story is about Wil, Paulsen's usual young protagonist type. He is forced to move to a new community 'out in the sticks'. That move sets things rolling, so that when Wil discovers the small island not far from his new home, he decides to explore it. And more than that, to study it with such an intensity that he discovers not only facts about herons and frogs and the environment, but about himself.

**Unusual for Paulsen, THE ISLAND contains a little romance, which thought Gary pulled off nicely.


Personally::: I really liked this book. It's got some of the best writing I've seen come from Mr. Paulsen. And I loved the laughs he provided at the beginning as well as the romance. Despite my having enjoyed it though, I know enough about younger readers to give a warning that this isn't the same sort of 'light read' that the Brian books are--Hatchet, Brian's Winter....

So pick it up when you're in the mood for something a little more thoughtful.

mini-review
(Pam T~ booksforkids-reviews)

The setting is in the summertime. The protagonist, Wil Newton who is 15 years old has just moved to Minnesota from Wisconsin. Wil doesn't like the moved but to make matters worse his parents aren't getting along. Every morning Wil leaves home and goes to an island. On this island he watches the loons,and the fish. He also writes and paints. But Wil has a problem--Ray Bunner, the bully. Wil decides he wants to live indefinately on the island. Wils parents become concerned because they begin to think he is crazy. During his stay on the island Wil discovers two things: nature and himself. Paulsen may be a little slow moving in this book but I think he did a great job. There is a line in this book that I have thought about a lot and that is when Wil says "if I can learn a fish, I can learn my father." I recommend this book to people who don't want a lot of adventure and action but a book to learn important lessons.

"The island lay in almost the exact center of a small lake in northern Wisconsin..."

"...And was thought so unimportant that it appeared on no topographical maps of the area."

That... happens to be the first paragraph of the book The Island, by Gary Paulsen. The Island is a book about a boy named Wil Nueton, and how he finds something deep within himself. The book is mostly realistic fiction, and readers of all ages from kids to young adults to parents to grandparent will enjoy this book tremendously.

When Wil moves to Pinewood, Wisconsin in the middle of the woods, with nothing around, he finds a lake while riding his bike one day. Within the lake he spots an island, and beside the lake lay a row boat. I don't need to say anymore, just that he has many things that happen to him on the island.

There is the perfect amount of characters in this book and they are explained in just the right ways based on how important they are in the story. If you're in the mood, for a slow relaxing book that really makes you think about getting away from real life, this is the book for you. The way the author makes Wil think on the island is very unique; his mind totally goes blank and he tries to learn about things he never before even thought of. "Sometimes the heron isn't there even when he's there." Wil writes while on the island.

Gay Paulsen is a Newberry award honor book author who has a very "clear your mind completely" brain (as Wil would put it). If you've ever read any other books by this author and liked them, I know you'll enjoy reading this book of adventure and friendship.

The Island by Gary Paulsen is a must read for a good reader.

The Island was a good book. It was about a boy named Wil Neuton. Wil finds an island. With the help of his new friend Susan, Wil decides to stay out on the island for several days! Wil finds something inside of him that he does not want to go away. He discovers the beauty of nature in the most interesting ways. With the people that love him back home, Wil has to think about ever going back. I gave this book 4 stars! It was very interesting and I am sure anyone who reads it will not be able to put it down!