By Tanya Guerrero
4Rbooks 5/6 grades 6-8
Amazon 4.8/5 grades preschool-2 (???)
Goodreads 3.88
Common Sense Media Not yet reviewed
Synopsis
Isa and Coral are cousins, but they are more than that. Their mothers are sisters who married brothers, and their families are very close. Isa and Coral consider themselves “star sisters.” Isa is older, 13, but shorter and smaller so she is known as “little star.” Coral, 12, is tall with long legs and is known as “big star.” They are worried about missing each other all summer as Coral’s family is going on a sailing trip through the South Pacific.
While on the trip, an earthquake strikes Indonesia and Coral’s family boat is capsized and she is swept away to a deserted island. There are no signs of her parents, their ship, or any other people on this small island. There is a dog who becomes her one friend, and they help each other survive. She is despondent and desperate. Utilizing the lessons she learned from her father, Coral begins to create a life of survival, anxiously hoping for a rescue.
Isa is also despondent and desperate as she clings to hope that Coral is still alive and somehow, someway they will be reunited again. She and her parents walk carefully around each other as they all are grieving in different ways. A new cousin comes to visit but she can’t replace the relationship Isa had with Coral. Life goes on, but hope can’t die.
Parental Guidelines
Coral’s life on the island is as difficult as one could imagine and the books details her difficulties: only having one set of clothes, getting injured and hurt, eating foods she normally wouldn’t (cooked and raw), finding shelter and making fire, and suffering tremendous bouts of loneliness and despair.
Isa struggles at home with loss and keeping hope.
At one point each, both girls state that they’ve never believed in God, but then say a prayer or hope for guidance.
Coral takes a beating physically and details how much her body has changed. She only has one set of clothes and must strip down to nakedness to clean her clothes and herself.
Coral’s parents die in the boat accident. Coral and Bambi, her island found dog, almost drowns before being rescued.
Isa gets into a conflict with an older boy. He is wearing pink socks and accuses her of thinking “it’s gay.”
The story never mentions attending school. It takes place over a three-month period which means part of it would have to occur during the school year. Coral’s family seems to be akin to home schoolers, but that is never stated.
Recommendation
This book is written in alternating chapters in Coral’s voice and Isa’s voice. Coral’s story is a scary, depressing, exciting, and empowering tale like Hatchet, Julie of the Wolves, or Island of the Blue Dolphins (most similar). She utilizes the lessons from her father and her own initiative to survive.
What makes this novel unique is the inclusion of Isa’s story, the one left behind. How do move forward? How do you keep hope alive? How do you make new friends without feeling like you betrayed your best friend? It would make an excellent classroom companion read with those other survival novels with extension activities considering the emotions of the other families and friends who were left behind, worrying and wondering.
Because of the intensity of Coral’s situation and Isa’s emotional state sensitive readers might struggle through this book, but the happy ending even brought a tear to my eye. It is definitely a middle grade read.
The girls are ½ Filipino and ½ Caucasian. Many aspects of Filipino culture are included in the story. I would recommend this book for any middle school classroom or library.
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