Nightmare Island by Shakirah Bourne, 304 pages. Scholastic, MAY 2023. $18
Language: G (1 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (possession, little blood, danger)
BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
For six years, 12yo Serenity has had bad dreams. To keep them at bay, she has immersed herself in drawing monsters and making horror movies. Her little bro, 6yo Peace, loves helping with the movies and drawings, but he has started having his own nightmares. Their parents decide to take only Peace to a retreat on Duppy Island – an island Serenity has always heard in haunted. She decides to follow her family and keep Peace safe at all costs – confronting confusion, betrayal, and danger every step of the way.
The background knowledge needed to understand or be interested in what is going on is kept sketchy until the very end – I had to force myself to keep reading because I was confused about what was happening. Plus the 6yo in the book is well above expected levels of competence – beyond what you might expect even for a gifted child in articulation, conversation, and skill. Confusing, and really only interesting for the last 80 pages.
Cindy Mitchell, Library Teacher, MLS
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