Product Description

Six kids. One fate. Nick, J.J., Will, Lyssa, Charla, and Ian. They didn't want to be on the boat in the first place. They didn¹t want to be stuck at sea with a bunch of strangers. But when you¹re in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, there¹s no easy way out. And when a terrifying storm hits, there¹s no way to fully prepare. It¹s all about survival.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #32591 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 129 pages

Amazon.com Review
Being on a sailboat in the warm waters of the Pacific with a bunch of kids the same age could sound like a vacation dream come true. However, when this month-long trip is part of a strict program called Charting a New Course, and each participant--or inmate--is there for disciplinary problems, things don't look quite as rosy. And then, of course, when a big storm strikes, and the captain and first mate disappear, and the boat seems to be sinking... the whole idea becomes less and less appealing. Still, for Luke, Will, Lyssa, J.J., Ian, and Charla, this is the way the cards have been dealt, and whatever problems they may have with each other, however much they don't want to be there, it's time to start working together to save their own lives.

The first book of Gordon Korman's exciting new trilogy introduces readers to the six troubled kids who will become unwitting partners in their desperate bid for survival. A steely captain and a gruff first mate who calls every boy "Archie" and every girl "Veronica" keep order and attempt to turn their charges into young sailors--an effort that may pay off more than any of them ever anticipate. A hint of menace permeates Shipwreck, along with humor, angst, and mystery. Readers won't want to miss the continuation of the riveting saga in books 2 and 3, Survival and Escape. (Ages 9 to 13) --Emilie Coulter

From School Library Journal
Grade 5–7—Six young teens with discipline problems are sent on a sea journey sponsored by a group called Charting a New Course, an organization designed to help troubled youths straighten out their lives. With only the captain and first mate to guide them, the teens work as the crew of the sailboat. When a terrible storm hits, the captain is lost at sea and the first mate abandons the kids once he realizes the ship is slowly sinking. The teens must work together to survive the storm and a shipwreck in the first book (Scholastic, pap. 2001) in Gordon Korman's trilogy. Holter Graham's suspenseful narration successfully portrays the tension between the characters and keeps the action moving. Listeners will want to read the next two books in this hi-lo series—Survival and Escape (both Scholastic, 2001)—or wait for them to be released on CD.—Karen T. Bilton, Mary Jacobs Memorial Library, Rocky Hill, NJ
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About the Author
Gordon Korman is the award-winning writer of more than 40 books for middle-grade and young adult readers, including the popular Macdonald Hall series and the recent best-selling trilogy Everest.

Customer Reviews

A great Island story




"Island"
Shipwreck

Written by: Gordon Korman

If you like adventurous, and survival books, then "Island" is certainly the book for you. It is about six kids who get put on a ship by their parents because they can't behave at home. It turns out that the ship gets hit by a storm and the mechanic tries to fix the boat by taking apart the motor. The mechanic fixes the motor and then the boat explodes and crashes on a island. Six kids have to survive on a dessert island. Will someone rescue them? Will they run out of supplies? You will have to read it to find out. We also give the book five stars because it is a good adventurous and survival book.

Book review by: Ian Bryan and Nicholas Hiaker

The first book in a thrilling new trilogy.
Six kids are thrown together against their will on a small boat that will make a one-month journey on the Pacific Ocean. None of them want to be here, and all have been sent for different reasons. Luke is taking his only choice besides being sent to a juvenile detention facility for a crime he didn't commit. Will and Lyssa are quarreling siblings sent by their parents, who hope the trip will teach them to get along better. J.J. was sent by a movie-star father after he pulled one two many pranks. Ian's parents hoped to cure him of his TV addiction, and Charla was sent after she mysteriously lost her athletic abilities - what the doctor called a "burnout." But these six totally different kids are going to have to learn to work together to survive a vicious storm and a shipwreck that leaves them stranded in the middle of the ocean with no food, no water, and almost no hope for survival. This thrilling new trilogy is off to a great start. I can't wait to read the next two books.

Six kids are about to have the most unforgettable summer.
Luke, JJ, Ian, Will, Charla, and Lyssa are six kids on a ship 'camp' for one reason - they're from troubled backgrounds, and this is how they'll have to spend their summer. Instead of having a fabulous sunny summer, they'll have to depend on teamwork and do some labor, something any kid would dread of doing for their summer. Even though they'll have to make the best of it, and avoid their bossy ordering adult "Rat-face", they don't know that their fates are about to play out the way they could have never imagined. When a sudden storm hits the ship, sending the kids and the other boarders on the ship scrambling, they have to not only depend each other, but survive. They'll have to save each others' lives no matter what, because if they lose even one kid's life, there may never be hope in store for them in the terrifying sea. Island #1:Shipwreck is the heart stopping and funny adventurous first book in this amazing new trilogy by the wonderful Gordon Korman. Though it is more of a serious adventure story, Gordon Korman, who I'm not surprised at, added some hilarious humor here and there in the story. Gordon Korman fans and readers of Peter Lerangis's ANTARCTICA two-book epic story will undoubtedly savor his latest adventure-filled, danger-filled book, though I wish it was a little longer.