Customer Reviews

Phantom Island: Wind

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Gold Star Award Winner!

I just finished reading probably one of the best books that I have read in the last few years.

Whitnee's father mysteriously disappeared six years ago. Whitnee and her mother have missed him and refuse to think he is dead.

The first summer after he went missing, Whitnee went to a summer camp, Camp Fusion, where there were counselors who dealt with emotional problems. There she met Morgan and Caleb, who become her two best friends. Now they are back at camp, but this time as mentors to other kids who need their help.

While at camp, Whitnee accidentally finds herself, along with her friends, transported to another world. There she finds that she may be the savior of their world. She develops powers over wind, fire, water, and the earth.

They meet many interesting people and find a connection between the island and her father. There are many adventures, twists, and turns. There is also a wonderful romance. She and her friends grow in many ways as they try to find their way home.

PHANTOM ISLAND: WIND was extremely well-written, which was good because it is a very long book. Ms. Dallas's characters have a lot of depth and are very real. The descriptions of the island they went to was very detailed, so that you felt that you were there with them.

There are only a few other novels where I wanted to actually be in their world. I was captured from the very first page. I am so excited to read the next installment in 2010!

Reviewed by: Marta Morrison

Since I teach 7th grade, I love to read YAF. Sometimes this gets very stale, but Phantom Island: Wind was definitely a breath of fresh air. The writing was well-thought out, the plot was full of twist & turns and the main character was complicated without being annoying.

Whitnee Terradora has had a life full of complication since the mysterious disappearance of her father over 6 years ago. She returns to Camp Fusion, a camp for troubled kids, only this time as a counselor instead of a camper. There she meets Amelia, a spoiled camper who Whitnee can't seem to reach. She also begins to have relationship issues with one of her close friends, Caleb. Throughout all of this emotional turmoil, Whitnee begins having nightmares about her father and then begins seeing visions of him on the other side (forbidden side!) of the Frio River. Whitnee decides to take matters into her own hands and find out why she keeps seeing her father and just what is on the other side of the river.

Phantom Island: Wind will keep you glued to the book with action sequences, twist & turns and romance. Even with the romance I still recommend this book to my male students. It's a great book from a debut author and I'm glad I got my hands on it. Being the 1st in a series of four books, there are many more great things to come from Krissi Dallas!

Phantom Island is a fun mix of everything you could want in a book--characters that act like real people, humorous and dangerous situations, conflicting motives and agendas, problems you can relate to; as well as a fascinating and imaginative setting. People say that in some stories there is "something for everyone". Well, in this one, I think there really is. I am a book snob. I only read books I feel are worth my while, and if I get into one and don't like it, I put it down. When I first heard about this book, I was interested in it, and as soon as I started to read, I was hooked. It's the kind of book that you try to read any time you get a spare second. And when you're done, you read it again. I highly recommend Phantom Island.

What a great book! This is one of those books you will want to read again and again to see if you missed something the first time around! Great story for anyone from teens to adults. I would highly recommend this book!

From the beginning Phantom Island indulges its reader with the drama of a teenage girl, Whitnee, trying to find who she really is along with the help of her two best friends Caleb and Morgan. The three best friends start their adventure at the summer camp where they met, but soon learn that this camp is more than just a home away from home. After a mysterious phenomenon, the three friends, along with two other campers, find themselves on the White Island. The five of them are immediately swept into the cultures of the Island's four main tribes. As the friends attempt to get back to the "Mainland" they encounter many obstacles and learn more than they thought they knew about each other along the way. The mystery in this story keeps you thinking and second guessing who should and should not be trusted. Throughout the novel I found myself contemplating the motives of each character's actions with Whitnee. Overall this book was very intriguing. If you are into a balanced mixture of friendship, romance, mystery, and adventure, then you should definitely pick up this book. There is a little bit of something for everyone in Phantom Island. For more information visit www.krissidallas.com or www.thezephyra.blogspot.com

It took me a bit to get into the story once I started it. I'm not a fan of prologues. I more or less skipped the one in this book and didn't feel like I missed out on anything. After that, I did still have some issues getting started. There wasn't much action in the first couple of chapters so it was slow going. When the kids first get to camp, there was actually an entire section I skipped where the camp director was talking. I might have missed something, but if I did, I wouldn't know it because the rest of the story didn't really miss it. I felt like I got the whole picture without the speech.

Once the action got started, though, I really enjoyed the story. Secrets, lies (lots of them), a hidden island. Great stuff.

The imagery is vivid and the world Ms. Dallas has built is absolutely lush. I felt I could see what the characters were living. And I love the sense of history behind the people of the hidden island. The characters all intertwine and the story is woven around them very well.

Our main character, Whitnee, has a lot of trauma to work through, but she's well-rounded, if a little repetitious at times. It was a pleasure to go along with her on the journey through the strange new world. The way she interacts with the people around her showed her personality. Her friends complemented her and helped her through some very difficult things.

While there is action, for me this was mainly the story of a journey. It felt like a lot was set up. Usually with first books in a series, they tend to have the ability to stand alone... This one didn't really do that for me, but I didn't mind terribly since I know the second in the series if forthcoming. The ending did offer an outcome that I didn't expect and it left a lot of room for Whitnee to grow.

Overall, the pacing was good, barring the first few chapters. There are bits of sentences, some vocabulary, and grammar that an editor would've altered had this been published by a traditional house. If I didn't know it was self-published, I could guess that it was, or that an editor didn't take as much time as he should with the manuscript.

However, the little details I saw (and the editor in me cried out to change them) didn't detract from the story at large. The plot is pretty solid and I still enjoyed reading and getting lost on the island with Whitnee and her friends. I'll be looking forward to reading the next in this series.

(I think I'll consider myself an Aerodorian... and you'll have to read the book to figure out what that means!)

For people who are looking for some high fantasy mixed with teen angst and a lot of secrets, check out this book. I highly recommend it. You can see this and other recommendations at youngadultlitreviewblog dot blogspot dot com. We had a lot of fun reading this one!

I am half-way through reading this book and hate when I have to put it down! It is a real page turner, with every page full of suspense, romance and adventure. I actually feel like I am on the magical island with the characters. This book is great for kids of all ages (8-99), read it with your kids and get the conversations flowing! I am anxiously awaiting the anticipation of Book No. 2. Krissi Dallas, get ready....I think you are the next up-and-coming star!!!

Phantom Island: Wind has been possibly, one of the best, if not THE best book, I have read. I am an avid reader, and a fan of YA Fiction and Fantasty. Phantom Island: Wind is a wonderful story. Well written and completely captivating from the first page to the last. I couldn't put it down, even after multiple reads. This young author has created an amazing group of characters and places, especially considering Phantom Island: Wind's status as her debut novel. I look foward to the next book in the series.

I just finished this book, I loved it. Krissi Dallas really captured me and brought me onto the Island.I loved the mix of fantasy, romance and the depth of the characters. I truly feel like these characters became like friends,I can't wait to find out what happens to them in part two! I love being left wondering about what is going to happen next.

Keep 'em coming! I would recommend this book to all of the kids I work with, a great, positive, happy book. We needed something clean.

Krissi really has done an incredible job writing her debut novel Phantom Island: Wind. I believe that readers of all ages will find this adventure/romance novel hard to put down. Parents, please consider this novel for your middle and high school age kids as that's Krissi's target audience. I do believe they will thoroughly enjoy it as much as I did!