The Fireside Chats

{Note: This article will contain spoilers from the book.}

I finished reading this and thought I’d share. The book starts off with a bunch of kids, their ages vary, who find themselves stranded on an island after their plane crashes. At first, they seem to have fun on the island because there are no adults around to boss them around or manage their daily activities. But things eventually start falling apart when some of the older boys can’t agree on which is more important. One side is trying to make sure that they build a fire and make enough smoke from it so that any passing ships would realize they were there on that island. The other side wants to hunt the pigs on the island so that they’ll have something to eat.

While I can see both sides as something important, I would think that keeping the fire going so that potential ships that may be nearby would see the smoke would be a high priority on my list. The faster that someone will see the smoke from your fire, the better your chances are that you’ll be rescued from that island. You do need to eat, yes, but eventually the food may run out (or it has the potential to run out if you are eating it up to fast). You want to get off that island before your food supply runs out. But that’s me looking at it from my current adult perspective.

I was sad when I found out two of the boys that were on the island died. It really made me sad there at the end of the novel when the boys realize what happened to them two boys and start morning the loss.

Synopsis: At the dawn of the next world war, a plane crashes on an uncharted island, stranding a group of schoolboys. At first, with no adult supervision, their freedom is something to celebrate. This far from civilization they can do anything they want. Anything. But as order collapses, as strange howls echo in the night, as terror begins its reign, the hope of adventure seems as far removed from reality as the hope of being rescued.