Parents' Guide to

Orphan Island

By Mary Eisenhart, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Wrenching emotional fable leaves many questions unanswered.

Book Laurel Snyder Coming of Age 2017
Orphan Island Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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age 11+

Based on 6 parent reviews

SBBaksh
SBBaksh Parent of 4, 7 and 10-year-old
June 3, 2022
age 12+

Sad ending and many questions are unanswered. Ages 12 and up.

Orphan Island is very interesting, but is very sad and has many questions unanswered. It also does not have a happy ending, so I think that only kids ages 12 and up would be able to handle it.
lebrazille
lebrazille Adult
September 22, 2021
age 12+

Confusing, slow, no pay off PUBERTY WARNING

We listened to this as an audiobook, it started off fine laid the ground work for what would happen later in the story but… The main character comes off very whiny and selfish which is fine but there’s no growth so I found that odd. The one or two redeeming characters you hardly see. They never tie the pieces together but do give you an entire 15 mins on her getting her period. Was listening to this with my 11 year old son, it was so in depth I actually felt the need to talk to him about it. I know it’s a “coming of age story” doesn’t mean that’s necessary. It also talks about her getting boobs. If it was a novel that handled these topics well then I’d be glad for the introduction into tricky topics. This book produces all questions and zero answers.

This title has:

Too much sex
See all 6 parent reviews

What's the Story?

On ORPHAN ISLAND, everyone knows the verse: "Nine on an island, orphans all / Any more, the sky might fall." Nine kids live a simple life on a magical isle that supplies all their needs, keeps them all safe, and puts on a spectacular light show in the sky every morning and evening. And, every now and then, there's a Changing, as a boat arrives bearing a little kid and leaves taking the eldest kid away, never to be seen again. When her best friend, Deen, leaves, like all the bigger kids before him, Jinny, now the eldest, questions why the kids have always blindly obeyed this rule, without knowing who made it or why, or what's going to happen to them. Soon, the boat will come for her. Then what?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (6):
Kids say (5):

This coming-of-age fable of kids on an island has a great premise, relatable characters, and heartfelt emotions. Also a habit of raising tantalizing questions only to leave them hanging at book's end. Why do the kids come to the island? Where do they come from? Who sends them? Where do the kids who leave go? Where did the books come from, and who's Abigail? You'll wonder all these things and more, but you'll be none the wiser at story's end. Like The Giving Tree, which comes up early on, Orphan Island provokes strong feelings in readers, whether they love it and think it speaks to their innermost heart, or they can't believe they stuck it out for 288 pages for so little payoff.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Orphan Island and other stories of kids living on their own in some isolated place. Why do you think this is such a popular theme for storytelling? What other examples can you think of?

  • One character in Orphan Island loves the book The Giving Tree, while another thinks it's really stupid. Have you read that book? What do you think? Can you see why someone might feel differently?

  • Have you ever been in a situation where you had to figure out what to do, and you didn't really have enough information to make a decision? What did you do? Was there anyone you could ask for help?

Book Details

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