Island (novel series)

Island is a novel trilogy by Canadian author Gordon Korman. The books are set in contemporary times and designed for young teenagers.

The series consists of:

• Shipwreck (2000)
• Survival (2001)
• Escape (2001)
• Island Trilogy Bind-Up Book (2006)

Plot summary

Island 1: Shipwreck

Six troubled children who are part of a new scheme called 'Charting a New Course', or CNC, an extensive program that removes troubled children from society and forces them to cope with hardship and problem-solving aboard the Phoenix, a ship headed for Guam. There they supposedly learn the values of teamwork. They are the sibling rivals Will Greenfield, 13, and his sister Lyssa, 12; framed felon Luke Haggerty, 13; exercise addict Charla Swann, 12; Discovery Channel-dependent and couch potato Ian Sikorsky, 11; and rich, famous Hollywood actor's son, attention seeking JJ Lane, 14. After leaving Guam, a severe storm hits, seriously damaging the ship and washing the captain overboard. He is later presumed dead. They are abandoned by the ship's first mate, Mr. Radford, when the ship, day by day, begins to flood. After a failed attempt to repair the broken engine, resulting in an explosion that burns and sinks the ship, Luke, Charla, Ian, and Will find themselves deserted on an island after a week of drifting on a piece of wreckage from the ship, with one of the children being forced to dangle over the side as "shark bait." The status of Lyssa and JJ are unknown, and are presumed dead by the others. Will is unconscious upon arrival at the island. Parched with thirst and hunger, Ian, Charla, and Luke prepare to scour the nearby jungle for food.

Island 2: Survival

Ian, Charla, Luke, and Will wash up on the island, separated from J.J. and Lyssa. While Charla, Luke, and Ian are finding food, Will wakes up with amnesia, having no memory of CNC, or the other castaways (other than Lyssa), and runs away into the jungle. After several failed attempts of finding Will, the castaways hear a plane and go to the other side of the island to find it. To their dismay, they discover that on board were illegal traders, who shot one of their own men. They find the dead man washed up on their side of the beach and decide to bury him. After they finish burying him they run into J.J. and Lyssa, who had been living on freeze-dried food from the survival raft. In the jungle, Will makes a crude bow and arrow to hunt and defend himself. He later encounters a boar, which he shoots and injures, but later befriends and names it Rat-face, the nickname given to the first mate of the Phoenix, Mr. Radford, whom Will still doesn't remember. On the beach the other castaways worry about the smugglers finding them, or Will, who doesn't know of the danger. The castaways realize the smugglers chose the island for its isolated location as a rendezvous for trading illegal animal parts, and that rescue may not come for a long time or not at all. Meanwhile, in the jungle, Will slowly begins to remember the events of the past few weeks. He runs onto the beach at the same time the smugglers arrive at the castaways' campsite. He is not seen, and after a fight between the boar and the smugglers' Doberman pinscher, Will is shot in the thigh by a stray bullet after a series of gunshots, fired by the smugglers, to kill the boar. At the end of the book, the smugglers finally leave, after combing the island and making sure no one was present to witness their trade. During a walk through the jungle, trying to find medical supplies for Will, who now remembers everything, J.J. falls into a pit, in which is an unused World War II atomic bomb identified by Ian, codenamed Junior.

Island 3: Escape

The pressure mounts when Will's injury starts to worsen and his fever rises. He begins to become delirious and slips into unconsciousness, and, as Ian states, if he is not taken to a doctor soon, he may not make it. He is given antibiotics from an abandoned army dispensary in the jungle, though the medicine is in short supply. They plan an escape, requiring J.J. to stow away in the smugglers' plane, be ransomed to his rich father, and arrange for the rescue of the castaways.

When the smugglers discover J.J. they threaten him, seeking information about anyone else on the island. He endures a broken arm rather than rat on his friends. He is nearly shot, before managing to prove that he is the son of a Hollywood director using his designer sunglasses, and can be ransomed for a worthwhile amount. Held captive for days, he realizes he will be killed once ransom is paid. He escapes, colliding with a police cruiser sent to investigate after JJ's father learns that JJ's designer glasses are being hawked by one of the kidnappers.

Meanwhile, on the island, Will's fever from the infected bullet wound grows worse, and Luke removes it with Charla's help and Ian's Discovery-channel knowledge, with supplies from the army camp near atomic bomb Junior. Will regains consciousness a few days later, and they all prepare to escape the island on the yellow raft. After sailing for 6 hours, a U.S. Marine scuba diver, contacts them and gets them onto a helicopter that is carrying J.J.

Back in civilization, all are present when the scientists open up Junior, to find the uranium core replaced by a piece of paper with the word "KA-BOOM!!". They decide to name the island Junior Island and put it on a map.

A man from the ship, identified as a Mr. Radford, is later arrested in a bar for six counts of attempted murder.

The story ends with a reunion by the castaways, who do not go to the beach. they lived happily ever after.

Characters

Luke Haggerty

Luke was framed for possession of a firearm on random locker ispection day when he trusted a "friend" (his old friend Reese; his mother says in a letter she sent to CNC that she thinks Reese got Luke involved with a gang) with his locker combination. Luke immediately takes on a role of leadership on the island, and as mentioned by Ian, makes most of the decisions that impact the group. In book two when everyone's hometown is revealed, it says that Luke grew up in Haverhill, Massachusetts. The first castaway he met was Will, and seems to have a good friendship with him. He also seems to be close to Charla for brief moments (holding her hand once and often going on trips for their chores together) and is often annoyed by J.J.'s irresponsibility (resulting in fights sometimes) until the very end. He has shaggy brown hair and is tall for his age. Luke is 13 years old. Ian clings to Luke the most.

J.J. Lane

J.J. is the son of the world famous movie star, Jonathan Lane (his true name being Jonathan Junior). His father sent him to CNC after he pulled a series of crazy stunts for attention (shoplifting, bringing champagne to his 8th grade dance, and driving his father's Harley Davidson through a plate-glass window at an art museum and leaving marks on a painting). Through the series he is convinced that the entire wreckage of the Phoenix was a stunt and that CNC is watching them through hidden cameras and microphones. He is considered spoiled, bratty and a flake as he "never contributed anything to the group", but later realizes the error of his ways. He eventually becomes the group's ticket off the island when he stows away on a group of illegal traders' plane and gets help. In book two everyone's hometown is revealed and J.J. is said to be from Beverly Hills, California. J.J. lives the most west of all the castaways and is the richest. He also has blonde hair and custom-made shades that he refuses to take off even at night. His eyes are also blue. J.J. is the oldest at 14 years old and resents Luke's position as unspoken leader on the island.

Lyssa Greenfield

Lyssa Greenfield is almost constantly at war with her brother but loves him a lot. Cracked ribs, melted computer disks, concussions and broken noses have come from their constant fighting. Lyssa is a straight-A student and is good with machinery: it is she who attempts the fix of the engine. She supplies wit and loyalty to her fellow castaways. In the middle of book two and all of book three, Lyssa shows that she actually starts to love her brother; Will finds her in book two and they hug each other, stating, "A small part of Lyssa, standing strangely distant from herself, noted that this was the first time she could ever remember hugging Will." In book two when everyone's hometown and state is revealed, it says Lyssa and her brother reside in Huntington, New York. It is also said earlier in the book that Lyssa and Will are brother and sister. Lyssa has dark blonde hair and is said to be very pretty. She is 12 years old.

Will Greenfield

Will Greenfield is at war with his sister, Lyssa, as both have been landed in the hospital in one of their quarrels. He views himself as imperfect, and his sister as the perfect, good-looking kid of the Greenfield family, which makes him resent her. Will ends up with amnesia in the second book and does not remember a thing about the shipwreck or the other castaways except for his sister for a brief part in the book, in which he sabotages Luke, Charla, and Ian's shelter. He is later the castaway that is in a life-threatening situation by an infection from a bullet wound. In the middle of book two and all of book three, Will's sister Lyssa starts to show she does truly love him and would be lost without him; Will finds her in book two and they hug each other, stating, "A small part of Lyssa, standing strangely distant from herself, noted that this was the first time she could ever remember hugging Will." In book two when everyone's hometown and state is revealed, it says Will and his sister reside in Huntington, New York. It is also said earlier in the book that Lyssa and Will were named after two flowers, Sweet William and Sweet Alyssum. He has sandy brownish hair and is slightly husky. Will is 13 years old and possibly turned 14 in Book 3.

Charla Swann

Charla is an exercise and sports-crazy addict; her family lives in Detroit and her dad works three jobs just to pay for her sports, however nothing about her mother is stated, we never even hear if her mother is living or dead, or if she's married to Charla's father at all. Her dad went in debt to pay for Charting a New Course (CNC) after she was so burned-out she couldn't move. She is dedicated to over fifteen sports and aims for the Olympics to be able to earn money for her family. She often feels disgusted by the others, especially JJ, because she views them as being rich while she's poor. However, the longer she spends with them, the less she feels that way. With her fit and athletic body, she is able to scale places the others can't, usually serving as a lookout atop trees, scaling them to get fruit, or using her lightning quick reflexes to grab fish with her bare hands. She seems to be close to Luke a bit (holding his hand once and often going on trips for their chores together.) and good friends with Lyssa (seeing as they're the only girls). Charla has dark skin with curly brown hair and is said to be skinny because she is so athletic. Charla is 12 years old.

Ian Sikorsky

Ian Sikorsky is a TV addict, spending his time watching the Discovery Channel. Ian is considered the shyest and most innocent out of all the castaways. Concerned about his health and social status, his parents sent him on CNC to isolate him from TV. However, it is he who very well determined whether the group lived or died on the island. In book two, it is revealed that when Ian lived in Illinois, he had two pet goldfish, Dot and Com, that his mother often made potroast, and his father was a trombone player. From watching so many hours of Discovery Channel, Ian supplied the knowledge and survival skills that helped the group pull through. He is the youngest, being only 11. He has brown hair, is small for his age, and wears glasses.