The Islanders

"The Islanders" is a book aimed squarely at what the publishing world calls "young adults" and the rest of us call "precocious kids", but it's beautifully and starkly written, and tautly structured. I reread it with just as much enthusiasm when twice the age at which I read it first. Townsend's characters are fully realized without being overly described, and he is excellent at *showing* us how life on this isolated, Pitcairnesque island unfolds rather than lecturing us about it. It is a tightly- and carefully-written novel that should appeal to adults and be devoured in voracious great gulps by more thoughtful younger readers -- girls will find a tough and capable young heroine who has no story-book prettiness or guile, but influences events with her courage, tenacity, and resourcefulness; boys will find almost-reluctant heroes who do not necessarily excel in their community's traditional masculine roles but have other strengths in abundance.