

This event will run from 6:30pm to 7:30pm at the Five Points bookshop. This thoughtful story of growth and self-discovery is well worth reading.Avid Bookshop presents our friend and Atlanta author Laurel Snyder on Friday, June 16, 2017, in celebration of her book middle grade book Orphan Island. Orphan Island is a quiet book - no dystopian or paranormal elements here - and yet there’s a magic to it that’s unparalleled. Because of this Orphan Island lives beyond the pages. But I think that’s the point, and the reason why I keep returning to her narrative. Oh, how I wanted the story to continue! I have so many questions left unanswered. Snyder’s ending is infuriatingly open-ended.

The end of Orphan Island, though somewhat expected, is slightly jarring. She celebrates their resiliency through beautiful prose and a compelling plot. Not only does Snyder accurately depict the change from childhood to teen, she also gives her characters - the children - freedom to grow and explore on their own. While author Laurel Snyder has written Orphan Island for middle graders, it will strike a chord with YA and adult readers as well. I did not want to put it down, and stayed up late into the night finishing it. Being the Elder changes everything, and Jinny’s not sure she’ll be ready when the boat returns to take her away forever. She’s responsible for teaching Ess everything she needs to know about the island. Except, now that Deen is gone, Jinny is the new Elder. It’s a pattern all the children - except, perhaps the newest inhabitant - are used to. After its arrival, the boat makes a return trip to the unknown, taking the eldest child from the island with it. In that boat, a young child sits, waiting to become the island’s newest inhabitant. Each year, a boat - seemingly powered by magic - appears on the horizon. The nine children who live there are protected by their surroundings - wind that blows them to safety, food that keeps their stomachs full and snug cabins to sleep in at night.Įach day is predictable as the next, even when the Changing happens. On the island, everything is pretty much perfect. Orphan Island opens on the day of the Changing.

Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder is one of the most captivating and the most frustrating books I’ve ever read.

ORPHAN ISLAND, by Laurel Snyder, Walden Pond Press, May 30, 2017, Hardcover, $16.99 (ages 8-12)
