The Cay

Description

After the Germans torpedoed the freighter on which Phillip and his mother are traveling from wartime Curacao to the U.S., Phillip finds himself dependent on Timothy, an old, black West Indian sailor. Shipwrecked, there is just the two of them. This is the story of their struggle for survival and of Phillip's efforts to adjust to his new disability, blindness, and to understand the dignified, wise, and loving old man who is his companion.

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This award-winning novel remains a powerful classic of prejudice, love, and survival. In 1942, 11-year-old Phillip Enright lives with his parents on the Dutch island of Curaçao, but when the war moves too close for comfort, his mother decides to travel with him back to the safety of Virginia. When their boat is torpedoed, however, Phillip is blinded and finds himself adrift on a life raft with an old black man and a cat. They eventually land on a deserted island. Phillip is suspicious of "the large Negro," but soon grows to trust--and ultimately love--the patient and generous Timothy. Dedicated to "Dr. King's Dream," The Cay has a clear message that friendship is colorblind; it is also a terrific adventure story of a young, newly blinded man learning to survive on an uninhabited island. (Ages 12 and older) --Richard Farr

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Customer Reviews

A wonderful Children's Book for all ages
The Cay was deservedly named Book of the Year by the New York Time. A well paced, fast-moving single plot but multi-dimensional exciting adventure story about growing up. The style is simple and colourful. I loved it. Excellent reading for Boys and girls.

2010-07-10 | I read that! (Canada and the rest of the world) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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torpedoed... the cay
I rank The Cay four stars. It was the best survival story I've ever read even though it has some sad parts. My favorite part was when Philip gets saved because it is funny because he was naked when he got saved. I would recommend this book to third grade and above because if you were younger you would not get the story or you would not understand the words.

2010-05-12 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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An amazing book The Cay
By:Siraj Sabha

The cay was a very good book.it was about phillip and his friend timothy stuck on a cay and it shows there struggle to survive on that cay. It was brillant it also shows how racsim shouldnt effect you friend ship with any one. The book starts out about phillip tallking about himself then goes to the germans and then a little about the island. After that phillips mother decided to leave the island so that they wouldnt get hurt. By know your probally wondering how the got on the cay,well im almost there to leave the island they had to take boat. when they left they were very nervous almost to there destanition they get torpedoeod by a german subarine. They slip on there life jackets then get ready to board the life boats. A piece of the burning ship hits phillip and makes him go overboard. Thats how phillip wakes up on a raft with this black man named timothy but also withthe cooks cat stewcat. After a few days they end up making it on to a cay. Then they have there struggles on the cay like when there facinga hurricane.




By:Siraj Sabha

2010-04-20 (Raleigh, North Carolina) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Friendship, love, and sacrifice
This is a very sweet story about the friendship between a blind boy and an old man. Wise old Timothy becomes a savior figure for Phillip, first teaching him how to survive on his own and later saving his life. Reminding me a bit of Uncle Tom's Cabin, The Cay makes for great discussions with younger readers due to the themes explored including forgiveness, human nature, race, survival, love, and sacrifice. It's a fabulous quick read that I would recommend to everyone.

2010-01-20 | Mentor Mom (USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Emotional, educational, entertaining
First Line: Like silent, hungry sharks that swim in the darkness of the sea, the German submarines arrived in the middle of the night.

It is 1942. Phillip Enright is eleven years old. He and his mother moved to the island of Curaçao off the coast of Venezuela when his father got a job with the Royal Dutch Shell oil refinery there. Phillip loves island life and thinks the sighting of German submarines is exciting until he sees one of his favorite ships torpedoed and sunk. His mother is homesick for her native Virginia, and the presence of the Germans makes her frantic with worry. Over everyone else's better judgment, she insists on taking Phillip with her back to Virginia.

The worst happens: their ship is attacked and sunk, and young Phillip (now injured and blind) finds himself marooned on a tiny island with an old black man named Timothy. Although Phillip's friends on Curaçao had much more relaxed attitude toward blacks, Phillip can't see, he's scared to death, and he treats Timothy as an American used to segregation would. That is something that old Timothy is not willing to accept.

This is a wonderful story about survival and acceptance with the rock solid character of Timothy at the center of it all. The setting of the tiny island is very well done, as is the use of dialect. This is a book that has a very high ethical purpose, and it succeeds because the author tells a believable, mesmerizing story-- he does not preach a sermon. Theodore Taylor has written other books, and I'd certainly like to sample more.

2009-12-10 (Phoenix, AZ USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Sniper

Description

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Customer Reviews

Sniper a revew by Tom an Doug
Imagine if you were 15 year-old Ben alone in the wild cat preserve. Because your parents are on the other side of the world. "Suddenly the silence of the night is broken by Peacocks. Someone is out there. Someone with a score to settle. And this is only the beginning. This book is an edge-of-the-chair thrilling suspense filled story. In the book "Sniper" by Theodore Taylor, a boy named Ben struggles to tries to keep innocent animals' safe and harm free from a murderer. This book can happy and funny, but also it can be serious and sophisticated. In this book Ben has to struggle to keep the preserve up and running. For instance, one time there was a fire and Ben had to evacuate all of the animals. Also in the beginning of the book all of the cats were released and two of Ben's favorite twin lioness was shot. If you want to know the end then you must read the book. We can just tell you it ended in a good way in our opinion. "Sniper," was an amazing book.

2007-03-13 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Sniper
Running from your fears is one thing, facing them is another. In Sniper, by Theodore Taylor, 15 year old Ben Jepson is left alone to protect his family's wildlife preserve in Los Coyotes, California. But he doesn't know that a killer is watching him. The trouble starts when someone opens the gates and lets the cats lose. When he tries to recapture the felines, he finds that two of them have been shot to death. Thus begins an epic struggle for survival. Taylor puts in a lot of voice and depth into the writing and accurately describes Ben's feeling during his relationship with Sandy, his girlfriend, and the deaths of the cats. The main suspect is Richie Lewis, but Richie, to Ben, is the meaning of Fear. But, is Richie really the killer? When will Ben's parents come home from Africa? Will Ben catch the killer and save the cats? Taylor makes you sit on the edge of your seat in this action - packed book.
We recommend this book to all people age 11 and up. We have rated this book 4 out of 5 stars.

2006-03-31 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Theodore Taylor: Master of Suspense by kids of White Plains
"In the dead of night, a killer stalks his prey...and never misses."

Everyone has their breaking point, including Ben Jepson, who is in charge of a tiger perserve, so things take a toll for the worst. Sniper, by Theodore Taylor, locks the reader in suspense until two-hundred twenty-seven pages of excitement have elapsed. Sniper takes place in an animal perserve on the Najara River in California on the present day. Ben is a fifteen-year-old teen who's caught up into a problem of trying to find out who's sniping the tigers. Two Latino assistants, Rafael and Luis, share Ben's pitty for the dead cats. Their main suspect is Richie Lewis, who has a grudge against the tigers and Ben's friends and family. However, is he truly the killer?

Theodore Taylor, who is also the author of The Cay, can be a bit repetitious but has an excellent craft. For example, there are several times in the book where the author shows how much rage and hatred is in Ben. The dialouge at certain times can lose the reader, but is otherwise a great book.

Theodore Taylor's message is to never give up, keep yourself together, and that you can't do everything alone.

A must-read for ages 11 and up.

2006-03-30 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Sniper
In the dead of the night some one is watching waiting to kill.In Los Coyotes, California, 15 year old Ben has been left in charge of the family's animal preserve while his parents are away in Africa. But something has gone terribly wrong, not only are the big cats being killed and he hears some terrible news about his parents. Ben's fear escapes him and knows that the sniper is soon after him. This intriguing mystery, full of suspence is called Sniper, writen by Theodore Taylor, who also wrote the best selling book the Cay.
Theodore Taylor writes thrilling adventures. His mystery called Sniper intertwines another mysterious path. His book is full of action, described in excruciating detail. His realistic dialect makes it seem like the characters are right there talking to us.He uses amazing sophisticated language. We think that Theodore Taylor could of explained what Los Coyotes looked like even more.
Sniper, deeply suggests that if you truly believe, and never take the easy way out, you never know what the outcome could be.
If you like action packed adventures, touching points and strong vocabulary we strongly recomend Sniper. This book leaves you begging for more. This book is for ages 11 or older.
Can Ben save the big cats, can he save himself?

2005-03-31 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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Sniper
"As if jabbed with a long needle Benjamin Jepson is jerked awake to screams of peacocks." Benjamin Jepson is left in charge of his families "California Wild Life Preserve" in the book Sniper by Theodore Taylor.
Ben's father's preserve is attacked by an unknown sniper. Knowing that most of the neighbors the preserve do not like the animals, Ben decides that there are a lot of suspects. Some reasons would be that in some times the animals escaped or properly couldn't be sold.
Benjamin Jepson, a 13 year old boy, is considered mediocre by his grandmother, he is stubborn but determined. This is shown in the book when Ben goes after the sniper that has killed cats in the preserve. Benjamin is also a leader, when a fire was burning the preserve. Ben had managed to move the big cats to another location without injuring them.
This book has many strong points. For example, he used fragments a lot and this puts a strong impact on his ideas. The weakest point to this book was the ending. The author, Theodore Taylor, should have had ended the book once the sniper was caught. On the other, the author who used foreshadowing. For example in the story it said that there was a crack in the other room. Moments later. Rachel a cat in the preserve died.
Working together. That's what this book is all about. Trying to get the big cats safe. He has to work with Hudson the Kenyan who was a former killer, Deputy Metcalf, the friend to the family, Sandy Ben's girlfriend, Louis, and Rafael, his trainers, this is especially true because his parents are missing in Africa without a trace. On top of all this the person who was supposed to help Ben run the preserve is injured in a car accident and is in crucial condition. This heads to why Ben is in charge of the animal preserve.
This book would be great for anybody who like a mixture of survival, mystery and a little bit of adventure. Sniper by Theodore Taylor is an overall great book. But kids, under 9 should get clearance from their parents.

2005-03-30 | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 4

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The Weirdo

Description

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Customer Reviews

The Weirdo
Suitable reading for middle school students. Presents facts about wildlife and investigates the different relationships between teenagers and adults. It also presents the reader with a real world dilemma and challenges the reader to resolve the issue in question. A good read.

2009-09-25 (Southport NC USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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An excellent book worthy of four stars
Note: The zeros were left by a troll and her gang, not real and decent people.

A good reviewer always emphasizes positive aspects of a novel before the negative. However, I'm reversing the order this time because "The Weirdo" has such wonderful possibilities as a required reading book.

I am a generous star-giver, mainly because I rate a book based on its genre and type of book. I don't compare a young adult book with literary classics. I don't compare a thriller with a reflective thematic book. I wanted to give "The Weirdo" five stars, but the book has three problems.

The minor problem first: I don't like the title. Once we know "the weirdo," a severely disfigured teenager, burned in an airplane crash, the title loses its fear factor, which is never a problem for the other major character, Samantha (Sam) Sanders. The second problem--and a major one--is time sequencing. When the "kid reviewers" say the story is confusing, they are right. As an experienced reader (English teacher and librarian), I was confused, especially concerning the pivotal night-in-the-swamp episode. This time-line problem is caused by the writer's alternating narrative chapters by the Chip Clewt (the "weirdo") and Sam. The problem arises when Taylor merges them toward the end, making the time sequence for that important night episode confusing.

The third problem concerns "boring" as reported by "kid reviewers." Again, they are right. Halfway through, I set aside the book and read two others. When I picked this one up again, the pace picked up and the story went faster (also reported by "kid reviewers"). What causes "boring" are some chapters by Chip, written as beautiful college journal entries, which describe various aspects of the swamp. They really are a necessary part of plot and character development to show Chip's dedication to preservation of this beauty.

As for the positive points: What I want to emphasize is the book's important value as an addition to the young adult genre and ecological impact. The setting is the Dismal Swamp, National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina, here called the Powhatan Swamp. In fact, the University of North Carolina, in conjunction with public schools, created a middle school resource unit, using "The Weirdo" as the central focus of a multi-disciplinary study. See Comment below for more information.

The two stories are rich in possibilities for teaching this novel. Sam's story takes place outside the refuge and involves suspense, mystery, and her father, who is a hunter for both pleasure and food. Chip's story is set inside the refuge and involves professional bear tagging for the local university, his isolation because of disfiguring injuries, and his opposition to lifting the ban against hunting in the refuge.

What ties the two stories together are an old murder, a missing person, and the potential lifting of the hunting ban. The most beautiful part of the novel is the developing relationship between Sam and Chip. That alone makes this novel worthy of being read.

All the positive aspects of this novel far outweigh the negative. In fact, "The Weirdo" is the required novel for summer reading for our incoming 8th grade class. My innovative, research-based principal and a former science teacher personally picked this novel because of the teaching unit mentioned earlier. Here in our corner of Louisiana we also have a national wildlife refuge, which is available to schools for field trips and guided nature walks. It will be incorporated into the unit.

This review is dedicated to the middle school teacher. Please read this novel. Think collaboration. Think possibilities.

2009-03-07 | Book Collector (LA) | Helpful Votes: 3 | Rating: 4

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Boring, pointless, confusing and predictable
This book is an insult to teenagers everywhere. For one thing, the sentence structure is poor, using too many commas, just so the sentences can be stretched out, longer and longer, melting the brain of whoever reads them, to the point of sending the reader, screaming, yelling, from the room. For another thing, it doesn't draw to a satisfying close. I was waiting for Theodore Taylor to say WHY the guy kills Alvin, but he never does. The story is almost too predictable, making it blatantly obvious who is the murderer early on. Sam and Chip are the only characters who are even remotely interesting.
The Weirdo becomes confusing in the middle, when it jumps around with almost no indication of where it is.
Please, do not waste your time on this awful book.

2008-11-21 | Helpful Votes: 1 | Rating: 2

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Great for 12 year olds and up
This was required summer reading for my sons upcoming seventh grade class. He was required to answer questions about the book so I decided to read it along with him so I could help him. I found this book very easy to read. It was based in North Carolina (my home) so it was fascinating to read about areas that I was familiar with. It has a great plot and excitement in every chapter. My son has really enjoyed it. When we discuss it, he can give me details about the story and says what he likes about it. That is always a good sign that he is enjoying it. I think that the issues raised in the book are appropriate for his age group as this is the time that "saving the environment" seems to really kick into high gear. I would recommend this as a good read for anyone 12 and older.

2008-07-12 (North Carolina) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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A Great Read!
T. Taylor's, The Weirdo is a great novel that has everything from science to suspence. It is a great educational read for 8th & 9th graders. It is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat from page one. It's a great read for all ages!

2007-09-30 (USA, Earth, Milkyway Galaxy, Universe) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Billy the Kid: A Novel

Description

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Customer Reviews

An interesting look at a legend through a blend of fact and fiction
He was dead by the time he was 19 --- though some say he might have been 21. Legend has it that he killed a man for every year of his life and that he was one of the best shots the old west ever saw. But this is the stuff of legend. The real truth surrounding the short life of William H. Bonney Jr. (Billy The Kid) is pretty much speculation. So Theodore Taylor has taken a blend of fact and fiction to create this version of the "Kid's" life.

Covering the last few weeks in the young desperado's life from an unfortunate train robbery to his grisly death in a gunfight, we are given both the Kid's point of view and that of his cousin and friend, sheriff Willis Monroe. Willis has known Billy since they were both youngsters, and when he hears that there's been a train robbery, he can hardly believe that the boy could be involved. With the hopes of bringing him safely back and clearing his name, Willis sets off to find him. His wife Kate also wants to believe in Billy's innocence but at the same time is frightened for her husband's safety.

Billy, for the time being, had taken the "easy" way out. Trying to make some quick money, he has fallen into the company of three notorious thieves. What seems like a good opportunity turns out to be poor judgment, and before everything is over, Billy kills one of the thieves (in self-defense), takes all the money and runs. But even when he meets up with Willis and agrees to go back for a trial, the cards seem stacked against him. He escapes from the jail and he and Willis end up in a desperate, bloody gunfight against the original thieves.

Was he a desperado, an outlaw, a murderer, a robber, or just a kid in the wrong place at the right time? 1881 was a hard, ruthless and mostly lawless time in the old west. In Taylor's carefully crafted interpretation, he creates a likable Billy in a fast-moving, good old-fashioned western. The "Author's Note" at the end explains how he came about writing this fiction and a little of what is known of the real Billy. Taylor, author of THE CAY, has written a book that will perk the interest of anyone who would like a taste of the old west and its legendary characters.

--- Reviewed by Sally M. Tibbetts

2005-06-29 (New York, NY) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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The Bomb

Description

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Customer Reviews

The Bomb
The Bomb by Theodore Taylor is a Historic Fiction novel taking place a few years after WWII on an island in Japan. Theodore Taylor is able to write about this area so well because he spent time as a Marine in the mid 1940s in Southeast Asia. Taylor is very loyal to his country but believes strongly that there should always be two sides portrayed to make a good story. He writes from a Japanese perspective of the treatment from the American military and government. A main theme in this novel is power and the way it is used. America feels the need to impose its power onto the Japanese after WWII had already ended. They use both military and technological power as they command the inhabitants of Bikini Island to leave for atomic testing. Also, they take away the cultural power of the Japanese and force them to change the way they live until the island becomes safe once again. They ask themselves, "Why change for white men?" (105). Their culture has been stripped by military power. I wish that Taylor had resolved the ending a little more. The ending just happened and left the reader somewhat confused. Also, with the use of slightly less strenuous vocabulary, this book would be a great read for almost all ages. I would recommend this book because it gives a great perspective of what others are thinking and the sacrifices one must make to create change.

2009-05-01 (CA United States) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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One of the worst books I've ever read
This book did have a lot of facts from World War II. But it was so boring, and so drawn out, that i had serious trouble reading it. I had to read this book for summer reading, but if I hadn't needed to read this book, i would put it down 20 pages into it.

2008-08-19 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 1

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The bomb
In the Book The Bomb by Thedore Taylor. He uses a lot of real events from World War II. The whole idea about the Atom Bomb and them using it on an inhabited island is a type of thought I would have never thought of. It is aboult a boy who has to take charge against the Americans from dropping the bomb on there island for a test.
I felt that I could relate to the main character Sorry. Because I once had to take charge agianst my friends. I wanted to stand out and show them that I wasn't afraid to do what needed to be done. In the book it was the same situation.
That makes me feel that a lot of people get in this type of situation and it ends up in all the same situation.
Taylor uses a lot of facts in this book and to me that's what makes this book so great. Everyone should buy a copy and read it.

2007-05-18 | Helpful Votes: 2 | Rating: 1

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Weapons Testing
Just before World War II, the United States developed the atom bomb. It was the most powerful and dangerous weapon ever to be created, and when it was created no one was sure of its exact capabilities. No one could predict how powerful it would be, or how destructive it would be to the land or water on which it was dropped. The United States needed a testing site.

Sorry is a teenager living on the Bikini Islands in the western Pacific. He is a member of a tiny village of peaceful people who still live off of the land, without any modern conveniences such as electricity or telephones. They fish and gather coconuts to eat and are happy with their lives. But the United States has decided that the Bikini Islands, with their lagoon full of fish, would be a perfect place to test the atom bomb. All of a sudden, Sorry and his entire village are expected to move to another place to live.

This is a true story, giving a point of view I'd never considered. It's a difficult issue to justify, moving a large group of people in order to test a weapon. I liked how each chapter started with a bit of history about the creation of the atom bomb. I thought this book went a bit overboard in describing how perfect the lives of the islanders were; I don't believe any society is completely without conflict.

2007-03-22 (Lowell, MA United States) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 4

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How to Raise Men Without Chests
A joyless tale that teaches children that the U.S. military routinely lies, that primitive islanders are our moral superiors, and that there is no difference between the United States and its enemies. Ever wonder why Harry Potter is so popular? It's because schools keep dishing out politicaly correct mush like "The Bomb."

C.S. Lewis wrote, "We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honour and are shocked to find traitors in our midst." This book is another step in that effort.

2006-05-08 | indiana_dad (Indianapolis, IN USA) | Helpful Votes: 5 | Rating: 1

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Timothy of the Cay

Description

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Customer Reviews

Adventure and enlightenment
A young boy's education about the cruelty, beauty, and symmetry of life. Surviving a WWII submarine attack is just the beginning of the adventure that leaves him stranded on a tiny desert island. He will learn about survival, respect, and true friendship.

2009-11-29 (Indianapolis, In) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Grandma Linda
As an English Major I was delighted that my twelve year old Grandson finally found a book that excited him. I have ordered all of the other works of Theodore Taylor for a gift for his thirteenth birthday. It is so important to get our kids to read instead of just sitting with their video games!!!!!

2009-07-05 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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great book
a great book for middle schoolers
very intense
DO NOT read Timothy of The Cay before the cay it ruins the story and meaning

2008-07-09 | book lover | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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Good classic for young teens
This is a good story for young teens. Unfortunately WW II is ancient history for most of them, but the storyline intrigues most.

2008-02-23 | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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SUPER STORY
THIS IS A VERY INTERESTING AND EXCITING BOOK FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. IT NEVER GETS BORING!! THE ENDING WAS A SHOCK, BUT IT MADE THE WHOLE STORY MORE REALISTIC. THIS WAS ANOTHER BOOK THAT MY STUDENTS COULD NOT PUT DOWN. ALMOST ALL OF THEM READ AHEAD (EVEN WHEN I ASKED THEM NOT TO). ANY BOOK THAT KEEPS KIDS INTERESTED IN READING IS GOLD TO ME!!

2007-03-28 | EXTREME TEACHER (ILLINOIS, USA) | Helpful Votes: 0 | Rating: 5

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