Thursday, January 9, 2014

The Island by Jen Minkman - Paul's REVIEW

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Title: The Island
Author: Jen Minkman
Year Published: 2013


Synopsis:Leia lives on the Island, a world in which children leave their parents to take care of themselves when they are ten years old. Across this Island runs a wall that no one has ever crossed. The Fools living behind it are not amenable to reason – they believe in illusions. That’s what The Book says, the only thing left to the Eastern Islanders by their ancestors.
But when a strange man washes ashore and Leia meets a Fool face to face, her life will never be the same. Is what she and her friends believe about the Island really true?

Or is everyone in their world, in fact, a Fool?

(Please note: this novella contains a few references to the famous sci-fi movie Star Wars which are pivotal to the plot. None of the characters in The Island are in any way related to the characters in the movie. Leia is named after one of the ancient heroes of her culture/religion.)

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Review: An island in which it's inhabitants leave their parents' protection at age 10 to survive on their own is the location of this novella. Leia is the main character and she has more than her name connecting her and her community to Star Wars. I was a little confused by the description of the cover of The Book. Leia, and I think Han as well, with lightsabers? 

I really liked this novella. It's a good length for the story it tells. It is also interesting to look at religion and the belief system of this society. There are many ways to interpret a text. And many ways to teach morals. 

I think it would help to be familiar with Star Wars before reading this, but you don't have to know any more than the basics. 

I give this novella a 4/5 and recommend it to readers who like dystopian stories with interesting societies that have developed different than our own.


--PAUL

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