Children's booksBooks This article is more than 10 years oldCoral Island by RM Ballantyne - review
This article is more than 10 years old'It was really exciting and packed with adventure, yet still managed to be full of beautiful descriptions'Ralph has always longed for adventures but little did he know that, when he went to sea, he'd find so many!
On a voyage to the South Seas, a dreadful storm wrecks his ship but Ralph, serious Jack and young comical Peterkin manage to swim to an island - marooned and with no hope of escape. They realise this could be the adventure of a lifetime - one they have always longed for. On their idyllic new home they find everything they could possibly need - all kinds of exotic and exciting foods; wonderful underwater caves; an abundance of wildlife to hunt and admire, and a coral reef to explore. Life seems perfect and plentiful to the young adventurers, as they swim, dive, and climb on their beautiful new home, without a single care. They even find a deaf and blind cat to care for!
Just when it seems as if life could never be better, disaster strikes and, suddenly, Ralph has a lot more to worry about...
This book was amazing! It was really exciting and packed with adventure, yet still managed to be full of beautiful descriptions that really brought the lovely tale to life - like a cross between 'wordy' (in a good way!) classics and a modern day adventure novel – the best of both worlds! Some say that this was the original inspiration for the now famous Lord of the Flies, so this sounds like a perfect book if you're wondering what to read next - I know I'll be searching it out..
The only 'negative' is that in some ways, the story has dated a little - hard not to when it was written in 1858! One example from the second half is the mention of cannibalistic South Sea islands, where Christian missionaries are travelling round converting the chiefs. You would hardly find that in a children's adventure novel today! But in some ways it really adds to the story, making it very exciting – I won't say any more!
I've also got to mention the cover which manages to be both modern and old fashioned at the same time - very simple but beautiful, and it feels really nice too... I think I'd buy it just for the cover! I couldn't recommend a book more – it's definitely earnt a prime spot on my bookshelf.
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