I will start by saying that I didn't like The Lord of the Flies when I read it, but I liked Scar Island. It really is a children's version of the classic. They even go so far as to insert a copy of Lord of the Flies into Scar Island. This one is much better and it is great to listen to as well.

Holes meets Lord of the Flies, but with less brutality. A good middle grade novel for those who like tales of struggle and survival. A good story for boys and girls even though all the characters are male because of the emotional element. The boys frequently and openly cry and not once does another adolescent character make fun of them. Since this is a "prison" story, some people may say that it is not realistic to show such vulnerability and tenderness, but these are young children so it makes sense. And having them all be so understanding about sadness is a wonderful example to show middle school readers. Heck, even the kid who goes a bit megalomaniac never makes fun of someone for crying. This world needs more stories showing males experience sadness, grief, and guilt in a natural way without someone telling them to toughen up or accuse them of being weak.

Does this book even deserve a 5/10? I actually think I'm giving the book to much slack. Just a weak book that I just could not get into, and don't even get me started on Colin's lisp. Do you know how many times I had to reread what he said to decode it? Too many. The story was very inaccurate, and the inciting incident actually made me laugh it was so stupid. Without spoiling the book, all I can tell is that it only goes downhill from there. The only interesting part of the book is Johnathon's relationship and letters with Sophia. Would not recommend for anybody. Don't read this.

Fast paced and hard to put down, this book acknowledges inspirations Robinson Crusoe, Lord of the Flies, and Moby Dick. Except instead of a wilderness island, the group of boys is stranded in a crumbling reformatory island fortress that was originally an insane asylum. It is dark, dank, and claustrophobic. And they are only stranded because they choose to be. In addition to the suspense, the story considers social dynamics, friendship, and redemption, with action that is both external and internal. It's exciting and emotional.

Great middle school read for boys. Yes, it is a little like Lord of the Flies, but very little.

I started reading this book and thought to myself, "Hmm, this sounds like Lord of the Flies," and much to my pleasure, Gemeinhart references that very story in his own novel. This tale of boys sent to an alternative school on an island under the control of the horrible, abusive Admiral is a great new Lord of the Flies type story--and it's suited for middle grade and is easy to understand. This is definitely a page turner, and these boys, while you hate many of them, are determined to survive and be his own person.

I really really liked this book by Dan Gemeinhart. This book was about how a group of boys try to survive on an island with no adults and no rules. The main characters in the book are Jonathan Grisby, Patrick, Colin Kerrigan, Sebastian, and Walter. The boys are trying to stay alive with no help from adults. They are on Slabhenge Island. The boys are there because they all committed bad crimes. I really liked how overtime the boys began to work together and help each other. I also liked how they called they called themselves “scars”, it was really cool how they come up with the name and it suites the title as well. One thing I didn’t like was how some of the characters weren’t really developed enough. The plot of the book was the kids were all at the island and then lightning struck where all the adults were standing and they all died then the boys tried to live on their own on the island. There were many conflicts in this story between many characters. Some dynamic characters were Jonathan, Sebastian, and Colin. There was a lot of humour in this book. I think that if you like Mystery, Action and Adventure you would like this book a lot. I Highly Recommended this book
-E. M.
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Scar Island is a very intriguing read that preteens and adults can both enjoy.
It stars the young 12 year old boy Jonathan that gets sent to a school meant for reforming troubled young boys. What he comes to realize is that this school is far from a school and more like a prison. Being commanded and controlled by the adults, none of the boys there like their surroundings or living conditions. They slave around cooking food for the grownups, cleaning, washing, and in the end must write a letter back telling their parents how much they love it. However on Jonathan's first day, all the grownups die and the young boys are finally free to do what they want for themselves. However not everything is joyous as it should be...
Jonathan is a well thought out character- he's not like most other 12 year old boys. He keeps a lot of secrets, and isn't the best person out there. However he is very brave, willing to do a lot to help his friends, and isn't afraid to admit that he is scared at times. He has a more logical outlook on things and tends to be the more creative, calm one out of the group.
The story itself is good, and leaves many things open for the reader to think about. It's a great page turner despite it's target audience being kids. The plot is interesting, characters are different, and the setting is definitely astonishing.
What I liked most about the book was the characters- Colin was my favorite, one of Jonathan's friends that was cunning and sneaky. The location of the story is very unique, adding to the plot. What I didn't like about the story the most was the pacing, the ending felt a bit rushed and after finishing the story it still leaves some questions unanswered.
I would rate this book 4/5
- V.D.

This generation's Lord of the Flies