Bailey's Brilliant Book Report!

Here is our first student blog post of the summer! Way to go, Bailey! I have a new book to add to my "must read" list! Thanks for the great recommendation!

By:                 Bailey

Date:               July 14, 2014

Title:                Stranded

Author:            Jeff Probst

Genre:             Fiction

Stranded is the first book of the trilogy, and it is about four children from a blended  family who get stranded on an island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in the present day. Vanessa is 13 years old and can sometimes be a little bossy. Carter and Buzz are both 11 years old. Carter is skinny, but he is also strong and athletic. Buzz is fat and not very athletic, because he likes to play video games. Jane is 9 years old and she is very smart and a very good swimmer.

Vanessa, Carter, Buzz, and Jane went on a boat trip from Hawaii with their Uncle Dex. The name of the boat was the Lucky Star. Vanessa and Buzz’s father recently married Carter and Jane’s mother. The kids have not been getting along since their parents got married.  Their parents thought that it would be a good idea for the children to go on a boat trip so that they could bond. The kids really did not want to go on the boating adventure, but they made the best of it.

The boating adventure was supposed to last seven days. During the first few days they learned to work together, sometimes with an attitude, to help Uncle Dex and First Mate Joe navigate the boat. By the fourth day, a nasty storm was headed their way. It was very rainy, windy, and large waves continuously hit the boat. Uncle Dex told the kids to go below deck so that they could be safe. The Lucky Star became damaged and began taking on water, so the kids could no longer stay below deck. Uncle Dex told them to prepare to get in the safety boat. Uncle Dex and First Mate Joe got in the safety boat first so that they could help the kids get in. The rope that was keeping the safety boat attached to the larger boat snapped before the kids could get in. Uncle Dex and First Mate Joe were blown out to sea, which left the kids on the sinking boat all alone. The boat tossed and turned in the stormy sea until they later crashed into the rocks of an island.

The next day there was enough daylight to see where they had crashed. The kids knew that they needed to work together to survive on the island while they waited to be rescued. They were able to salvage food and some supplies from the boat, but they needed to find fresh water to drink. The kids were having trouble getting along while they figured out what needed to be done and who was going to do it. Since they were not able to agree they were slow to make decisions. Carter and Jane went together to search for water, while Vanessa and Buzz were trying to fix the boat’s solar panels in hopes of getting electricity to make the satellite phone work.

While searching for fresh water, Carter and Jane got into danger because the tide at the lagoon near the waterfall was rising quickly and almost drowned both of them. Once they made it safely to the sandbar they realized that the tide was still rushing and that they would have to wait for low tide before they could leave. Unfortunately, while waiting for the tide to go down, the sun was going down too. Carter and Jane had to wait until morning to start heading back to the Lucky Star.

Vanessa and Buzz were not able to get the solar panel to work because there was no sun and it started to rain. They were worried about Carter and Jane, because they were gone all day. They began searching in the rain, but there was no sign of them. During the search Buzz had a great idea, which was to collect the rain water using the Lucky Star’s mainsail. Now there would be plenty of fresh water for them to drink.

Carter and Jane collected water from the waterfall near a cave. While in the cave, they heard voices from Vanessa and Buzz. The cave turned out to be a shortcut back to the Lucky Star. Vanessa and Buzz were so excited to see them that they gave them big hugs. This was a grand family reunion. However, an extreme storm was headed their way which was going to change to how they were going to survive.

In conclusion,  I think that the author’s purpose in writing the book is to entertain and inform, because the book makes you curious about what will happen to the kids next in their relationships and survival. The book also informs you how to survive if you are stranded on a deserted island. The book made me feel worried, because the kids were always faced with dangerous situations that they had to survive without parents. I would recommend this book for others because it helps you learn information about survival.