Title: Spy
Island
Author:
Sophie Schiller
Page Count:
327
My Rating: 4 TURTLES: A great read, I definitely recommend.
Description:
If you can imagine "Summer of My
German Soldier" set on a Caribbean island replete with German spy
characters, Old World Danish characters, colorful West Indian characters,
blazing Luger pistols, a mad Voodoo Queen, and a brave and resourceful heroine,
then you have a good picture of Spy Island.
When Abby Maduro is orphaned, she is sent off to live with
her estranged aunt on St. Thomas Island. After witnessing a brutal murder at
the hand of a German saboteur, she vows to devote her time to spy hunting. Soon
after arriving she befriends Erich Seibold, a German deserter who teaches Abby
that the world of spying is much more dangerous and complex than she could
possibly imagine.
Review:
Spy Island is an exciting adventure that will keep you on
the edge of your seat. Abby is spunky, yet innocent heroine with a big heart
and a lot of guts. A cast of distinctive, wonderfully drawn minor characters
adds their own, distinctive flavor to this tale as well. I love being immersed
in the world of the Caribbean during World War I, I felt like I was looking
into a snapshot of the past. This book is full of adventure, exciting twists,
just when I thought I had the plot figured out, it would change again. I could
not tell what would happen next, and kept turning the pages eager to find out.
The story is told in first person present tense from
Abby’s point of view. This aided my suspense since I found out things as she
did, but there were some areas where I found the narrative perspective
distracting. The other main character is Erich Seibold, and he has many secrets
at the beginning of the book. When he tells Abby the story of who he is and
where he comes from, there are pages just of his dialogue as he tells his
story. There is no change of point of view, but Erich’s story-telling sounds
more like a chapter of switched perspective than a man telling a story. There
were also instances where there was some tense disagreement that was briefly
distracting, but didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment of the story.
Sophie Schiller’s book was highly entertaining, and I
definitely recommend you check it out, especially if you love historical
fiction and adventure. I would say that this book would fall somewhere between
late Middle Grad and early Young Adult. There is some violence – fist-fights
and gun shots- that would probably be the “worst” of it. There is a romance,
but it is very tame and sweet. The descriptions, the characters, and the plot
of this story all weave together into a tight package of fun that you do not
want to miss.
Author bio:
Sophie Schiller grew up in the West Indies amid aging pirates and retired German spies. She was educated at American University, Washington, D.C. and now lives in Brooklyn, NY.
Glad to hear you enjoyed this one too! I really enjoyed the Caribbean and World War 2 aspects as well. However, I agree with your comment about the narrative perspective....it was a little distracting.
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