Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Aug 2009
256 pages
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publication Information
The spirited adventure that began in The Convicts and continued in The Cannibals has its riveting conclusion in The Castaways—in which Tom Tin and his four convict companions save two sailors stranded on an iceberg. There's Mr. Beezley, with his tattooed hands and icy stare; and Mr. Moyle, with his pig-like face and rotten teeth, who supposedly eats children. As Tom grows wary of the men, he suspects they are plotting to get rid of him. But how? And if Tom and the other boys can’t stop the sailors, will they ever make it home to England, where Tom's diamond remains buried, and where he still stands a chance of sorting out his tangled fate?
"Readers of the previous books will particularly enjoy learning how Tom comes to terms with his fate." - Children's Literature
"The author's continuing debt to Dickens and Robert Louis Stevenson remains plain in the latest of his nonstop maritime melodramas, and if many of Tom's escapes from agonizing death seem downright miraculous, at least it's easy to tell the bad guys from the good (though some do switch sides), and both ultimately get what's coming to them. Further sequels are likely. Ages 12-14." - Kirkus Reviews
"The Castaways leaves readers breathless. Grades 5-9." - School Library Journal
This information about The Castaways was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
When Iain Lawrence finished high school, he knew that he wanted to be a writer. He started with short stories and bits of non fiction but had very little success. He worked at different jobs that didn't last very long: logging in Ontario; fishing for salmon off the west coast; picking daffodils at Easter; inflating balloons and setting up skittles at a traveling carnival; clearing streams in the Rockies; fighting forest fires on Vancouver Island. Then he studied journalism in Vancouver and went to work at the small-town papers of northern B.C.
He stuck with these papers for ten years, learning a lot about writing: how to do it quickly without fretting over every phrase; how deadlines could be inspiring; how to tell a story in as few words as possible. He moved from job to job and...
... Full Biography
Author Interview
Link to Iain Lawrence's Website
The Stone Home
by Crystal Hana Kim
A moving family drama and coming-of-age story revealing a dark corner of South Korean history.
The House on Biscayne Bay
by Chanel Cleeton
As death stalks a gothic mansion in Miami, the lives of two women intertwine as the past and present collide.
The Funeral Cryer by Wenyan Lu
Debut novelist Wenyan Lu brings us this witty yet profound story about one woman's midlife reawakening in contemporary rural China.
Your guide toexceptional books
BookBrowse seeks out and recommends the best in contemporary fiction and nonfiction—books that not only engage and entertain but also deepen our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
