The Benevolent Lords of Sometimes Island
The summer of 1986. Central Texas. William and his friends should be having a blast. Instead, they are hounded by the Thousand Oaks Gang and their merciless leader, Bloody Billy. William found Billy's backpack. And because of what it contains, Billy desperately wants it back, and he'll do anything to get it. William hatches a plan for his friends to sneak away and hide in an abandoned lake house, except they become stranded on the lake's desolate island without food or water. Will their time on the island devolve into chaos? Will the friends survive and be rescued? The Benevolent Lords of Sometimes Island is Lord of the Flies meets The Body by Stephen King, the inspiration for the classic movie Stand By Me. A gripping suspense story with adventure and danger, tinged with humorous banter between the four friends, the middle schoolers face certain death without adults to protect them from the unrelenting natural elements, as well as the wild creatures that lurk in the wilderness around the lake. With a backpack filled with money and marijuana they stole from the merciless gang leader, it's only a matter of time before the high schoolers come looking for them, too. From award-winning writer Scott Semegran, The Benevolent Lords of Sometimes Island is his eighth book. This novel is Semegran's response to William Golding's 1954 novel Lord of the Flies, which was Golding's response to The Coral Island by R. M. Ballantyne, an adventure novel from 1858. All three novels tackle the premise of boys stranded on an island, with Semegran's novel taking a decidedly modern view of a group of friends in Central Texas during the summer of 1986 working to survive in a situation filled with danger and desperation with only each other to rely on.
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A moving, fine-crafted adventure of the heart
Semegran's latest novel is a moving and tender story of middle schoolers in 1980s Texas, entering into an adventure that conjures Lord of the Flies with good measures of Stand By Me. The charm is in watching the story of how these boys became older in a matter of days—when their lives were on the line—while the book embraces universal childhood fears and hopes. This is a book rich in detail; it revels in specifics of time and place. It made me feel as if I was living in the part of Texas where it unfolds. The dialogue between the boys rings true, too.
Genuine stories stay with us, and Semegran's book shows the mark of lived experience, observed with the wisdom of survival. If the 1980s were your richest years, this is a book that can remake middle school into a great lesson in love.
William, Randy, Miguel and Brian are stuck ... on an island ... why? A backpack. Not just any backpack, but one that belonged to Bloody Billy, leader of the Thousand Oaks Gang.
Taking the backpack is something William wishes he never did. It's his fault he and his friends had to hide away and it's his fault they came to a deserted house on the lake to escape Bloody Billy and his gang. He never imagined Billy would find them, chase them, and ultimately force them onto Sometimes Island...an island that is impossible to get to.
Standed without food or water, William begins to wonder whether they will survive long enough to be rescued. If they are rescued ... what waits for them upon their return?
I devoured this book in one sitting. Great writing, characters and story. Reminiscent of Stand by Me and the Lord of the Flies I was filled with nostalgia while reading this. Middle school is an important time in our lives and the friends we make during that time can affect our lives later. This is a perfect book for YA readers and one I would wholly recommend.
I appreciate the author gifting me a copy of his book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed herein are mine and mine alone.
