The Goats (A Sunburst book) (Paperback)

~ (Author, Illustrator) "WHEN HE came back to the beach with wood for the fire Bryce grabbed him from behind..." (more)
Key Phrases: municipal beach, tent platform, Miss Haskell, Miss Gallagher, Margo Cutter (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A boy and the girl have been chosen as "the goats" at summer camp. Stripped naked, they are marooned on Goat Island, as part of an annual prank played on campers who don't fit in. But the goats have much more spirit than their fellow campers expect, and they decide to disappear completelythey aren't going to go back to camp unless they absolutely have to. On the run, Howie and Laura meet many different peoplesome who help them, others who try to stop thembut they soon learn how very strong they are themselves, and they come to depend on their own resourcefulness and cunning to evade those who are trying to find them. But Howie and Laura know that they must, at some point, face the world they've left behind. Cole has written and illustrated many picture books (The Winter Wren, The Giant's Toe), but this is his first work for older readers. Written with the mastery and sureness of a seasoned novelist, it is a gripping, startling and thought-provoking story about children who find inner strength when they are pushed to the edge. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 8-10 Wimp, nerd, social retard some kids just naturally become scapegoats. Luckily an inner strength and an ability to survive sometimes surface, and these same scapegoats can confound their parents and acquaintances. Cole portrays this when fellow campers leave wimpy Howie Mitchell and ``real dog'' Laura Golden naked and scared on an island. When counselors arrive looking for them, Howie misunderstands and fears the return of their tormenters. He forces non-swimmer Laura to hang onto a log and float to the mainland. Reaching the safety of a deserted cabin, and realizing that they can't face returning to camp, they plot their survival until Parent's Weekend, when Laura's mother will visit, offering hope of sanctuary. Cole manages to instill just the right amount of suspense in their adventures through a potentially dangerous street kid, a cleaning woman who wants to turn them in to the police, and a sheriff who eventually snags them. Neither Howie nor Laura are initially likable kids, each either worrying or whining too much, but as they grow so does one's regard for them. The final distillation is a strong, well-blended story of modern day survival. A comparable book for older readers would be Lloyd Kropp's Greencastle (Freundlich, 1987). Pam Spencer, Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, Fairfax County, Va.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) (July 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374425752
• ISBN-13: 978-0374425753
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #256,652 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SURVIVING ON THE FRINGE OF SOCIETY, April 18, 1999

By A Customer

Wow, this book really holds your interest, hooking the reader's sympathy for the Boy and the Girl right from the start. You just Have to continue reading to see how they cope with sudden abandonment (supposed to be temporary) and decide to get even with the cruel kids at summer camp. Loss of clothing, money, self respect--just a malicious joke, you understand, to "punish" two social misfits.

Through no fault of their own, two pre teens were chosen to be their camp's annual sacrificial victims (i.e. goats), by being forced to spend a few embarrassing hours on a nearby island. Ha-ha--very funny to the terrified kids, who recognize their degrading situation and who ultimately reject the decision. Thus Howie and Laura (who did not even know each other) are forced to rely on each other's wits and daring (strengths they did not realize that they possessed) to reverse the kids' malicious decree. Not only to escape their dismal fate, but to survive on the outskirts of society for 3 days. They determine to get even, to pay them back for all the humiliation. Anything rather than endure the ridiule of returning to camp.

They decide to be proactive to preserve their own digntiy, to wait until the girl's mother comes up for Parents' Weekend. The plot rivets your attention for the kids must overcome incredible obstacles--posed by adutls and other kids--to live without the pale. It is unlikely that such social outcasts could be transformed so quickly into a cool "bandit" and a "fox wearing glasses", but the plot presents an interesting concept of social and physical survival. The book reads swiftly due to extensive dialogue, without the usual teenage platitudes. Their journey of self-discovery makes a fascinating read, with dark social undertones. For kids of all ages and adults harboring hurt kids inside. You will not be disappitned!

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Two teens find each other after being humiliated by peers., August 14, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: The Goats (Aerial Fiction) (Paperback)

As a voracious reader, I am always looking for a book that will take over my mind, my heart and my soul in one fell swoop. Imagine my surprise to find a book like this in a course on Children's Literature.

Brock Cole has written nothing less than a masterpiece. His book, The Goats, begins with two outcast, nerdy campers, a boy and a girl, who are stripped bare and left on Goat Island by their mean and nasty fellow campers. When they first find each other, naked and alone, they seem almost infantile in their needs. These two couldn't take care of themselves with clothes on, let alone off. Amazingly though, with the strength of their pride and humiliation behind them, they vow to get off the island and teach their fellow campers a lesson. What ensues is not quite plausible, yet totally believable. Abandoned not only by their camp mates, but on a much deeper level by their parents as well, these two goats manage to survive in the most extraordinary ways.

The most exceptional part of Cole's story is not how they survive physically, but how they survive mentally and emotionally. These two thirteen year olds, on the cusp of sexuality, develop an intensely intimate relationship. Cole has written something so beautiful, so adult-like, but it is doubtful that many adults ever really attain this level of intimacy. Literally stripped naked physically, the two characters find shelter and clothes within themseves, in their relationship with each other.

Anyone who wants to be touched in the deepest way, to come away from a book changed, will find the great satisfaction with Brock Cole's The Goats.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars a childhood favorite, lost and found again, March 3, 2004

By	christina (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Goats (Hardcover)

i read the goats when i was very young and absolutely loved it. i lost my copy (probably lent it to someone untrustworthy) and years passed. i had all but forgotten this gem until i went searching for the top 100 "challenged" (read:censored) books. i am currently studying to be a teacher, and i decided to collect the "challenged" books for young readers to have in my classrooms (because i want my students to grow with open minds and i will not be told that books and the ideas contained within are dangerous). i recognized this title and it was the first i ordered. i was not disappointed. it was just as great as i had remembered, and the only reason i didnt give it 5 stars is because i reserve the 5 star rating for books that strike a chord within my soul or absolutely change the way i percieve life. those books are extremely rare. that being said, 4 stars is still amazing, and if you are considering purchasing this book i would highly reccomend it.