Review: Daybreak on Raven Island by Fleur Bradley
Quick Info:
Book type: Chapter book
Target age: 8-12
Recommended age: 10+
Plot: Tori, Noah and Marvin are seventh graders who are going to the first class field trip ever to the mysterious (and possibly haunted) Raven Island. After they miss the ferry ride back home the three unlikely friends must solve old and new mysteries behind of this Island before it is too late.
Review
I can’t say I remember much of this book. It felt like there were multiple plot points that just didn’t work cohesively. The film crew, the kids, the prison, the warden, ghosts—it was just a lot. There were a couple of things that stood out to me which was the need to constantly mention the character’s races. Anytime a character would be introduced it would be their name and then race. I did find the kids’ friendship to be endearing, they weren’t always happy with each other and bickered but always supported each other.
Opinion
I feel very neutral about this book, if you have a child that likes mystery and spooks I don’t see any harm in reading this book. I would have conversation on ghosts, spirits and legends. There was also a theme of talking about injustice in the prison system, especially in terms of race, which I find to be an interesting conversation to have with a child as well.
Content
Lots of mentioning of death, dead bodies and someone gets shot in the book, although there is no descriptions of anything (off camera)
Mentions of ghosts and spirits
Ghosts are real in this story
Legend and omens
Mentions actually scary movies by name positively as one of the characters loves scary movies (The Babadook) and horror movie directors
Mild “you don’t belong here” bullying
Mentions of Korean folklore dalgyal gwishin and mul gwishin
Faceless ghosts
Mentions of beatings and other inhumane treatment of the prisoners
Excerpts:
Excerpts from books are a glimpse of the content that is found and are not every instance of un-Islamic and/or “iffy” content. I didn’t find anything in this book to really be worthy of sharing via excerpt so I decided not to make any. If you have any questions about this book specifically feel free to email me!
