Rating: Summary: Malone book review Review: After reading this book i would have to say that i liked it, for these reasons. It always kept my atention, there was a good plot line, and it made me feel like i was on the island with the characters when i was reading the book. i would highly recomend it for someone to read for a short good novel.The story starts at the out break of World War 2. Phillip and his parents are americans living in the caribbeans. His father works in a refinery to help the war efforts. Phillip's mother felt it was not safe to stay there with her husband while the war was going on so she took phillip and left. While on the boat it got hit by a missel. When the ship exploded a piece of wood hit phillip in the head causing him to lose his eyesight. phillip's mother died in the explosion but phillip got picked up by a man named Timothy and his cat who he called stew cat. Timothy and Phillip wind up landing on a small cay, surrounded by a coral reef. To survive they built a shelter, made signal fires, caught fish, and collected rainwater. At first Phillip had a hard time taking orders from timothy because he is black, and phillip underestimates Timothy's knowledge and wisdom. Over time Phillip starts to respect Timothy and the two become close. Over time Phillip got a good estimate that Timothy was about 70 years of age. Phillip started to think about Timothy's life ending before they were rescued and how he would survive as a young blind boy on an island by himself. Phillip's worst thoughts came true. Timothy died protecting Phillip with his own body during a terrible storm. Timothy knew his time would come and had taught Phillip enough so that he could surive on his own until he was rescued, he had also put up gide posts around the island so that Phillip could get around. When Phillip finally got rescued he left that island a changed young man, not a spoiled boy he first came as.
Rating: Summary: Only an Original Plot Short of Amazing Review: I would swear I've read this story before. It was a different book, had different characters and yet to discern the two from each other is surprisingly hard. Theodore Taylor's The Cay is a cliché elementary school version of novels such as Robinson Crusoe. The Cay lacks the imagery and excitement to set it apart from other novels in its class. The main character, Philip, and a boat hand, Timothy, get stranded on an island when their ship, the Hato, is sunk by a torpedo. Upon these happenings the rest of the book is as predictable the sun rising and setting and only keeps the reader interested with constant dialogue. It also leaves little room to work in for character growth beyond what is expected and allows for minimal rising action to the climax. An example, the book opens, " Like silent, hungry sharks that swim in the darkness of the sea, the German submarines arrived in the middle of the night." (p.9). This is by far the most vivid imagery in the book. It's an opening to a book you aren't reading and sets the reader up for disappointment when the standard is not upheld. This novel did not fulfill the potential laid out by the basis of the story. Despite the redundancy of The Cay and the repetition of its themes, it's still appropriate for the correct age group. A re-occurring lesson throughout the book is depending on other people for survival. It's meaningful because people can relate to giving and needing help. This could show smaller kids important lessons that don't mean as much to readers that already know them. Consequently, I would recommend this book to elementary student with an average reading level. Even if the story is cliché to some, to others who have not read books of the type it could be worth while. Though often seen, the lessons taught do need to be learned somewhere and The Cay shows them well. Should literature be judged on that alone, The Cay would be lively and enjoyable, but this is not the case. What some may see as breathing life back into old stories and ideas, I simply see as repetition of commonly known morals. The Cay, at most, is an even par book that barely creeps onto the green. My personal opinion and golf analogies aside, it would be only appropriate for The Cay to be given the time of day by young kids who enjoy survival novels.
Rating: Summary: Timothy and phillip "TOGETHER" Review: I would say this book is awesome,and i would recommend this book for grades 4-7. If you are wondering what is the story about it is about this kid who got lost at sea when his ship got torpedoed and he was at this island spending time with these guy named timothy and he always got mad but then all of a sudden one day he got blind and then....
Rating: Summary: The Cay Review by Amber Review: In the beinning there was a boy named Phillip and there was a war going on and his mom wanted to leave.So they got on a ship and soon a torpedo hit thier ship and Phillip got hit on his head and fel off. When Phillip woke up he was on a raft with a black man named Timothy and a cat named Stewcat.Phillipdid not like that because he was told by his mom not to like black people.Phillip becomes blind from direct sunlight.Then they finally got to a island.Timothy helped and taught Phillip how to get around the island.Phillip liked Timothy very much.They be came friends. One day Timothy said that a hurrican was going to come. They weregetting ready;then one night it came.It was like 3 hours till it was still again.Timothy is old and said that he might not make it through the hurrican.Will Timothy die?Will they be stuck there forever?Will they both live? I would give this book a 5 because it was aventure,and surprising.Read it and find out.
Rating: Summary: Only an Original Plot Short of Amazing Review: I would swear I've read this story before. It was a different book, had different characters and yet to discern the two from each other is surprisingly hard. Theodore Taylor's The Cay is a cliché elementary school version of novels such as Robinson Crusoe. The Cay lacks the imagery and excitement to set it apart from other novels in its class. The main character, Philip, and a boat hand, Timothy, get stranded on an island when their ship, the Hato, is sunk by a torpedo. Upon these happenings the rest of the book is as predictable the sun rising and setting and only keeps the reader interested with constant dialogue. It also leaves little room to work in for character growth beyond what is expected and allows for minimal rising action to the climax. An example, the book opens, " Like silent, hungry sharks that swim in the darkness of the sea, the German submarines arrived in the middle of the night." (p.9). This is by far the most vivid imagery in the book. It's an opening to a book you aren't reading and sets the reader up for disappointment when the standard is not upheld. This novel did not fulfill the potential laid out by the basis of the story. Despite the redundancy of The Cay and the repetition of its themes, it's still appropriate for the correct age group. A re-occurring lesson throughout the book is depending on other people for survival. It's meaningful because people can relate to giving and needing help. This could show smaller kids important lessons that don't mean as much to readers that already know them. Consequently, I would recommend this book to elementary student with an average reading level. Even if the story is cliché to some, to others who have not read books of the type it could be worth while. Though often seen, the lessons taught do need to be learned somewhere and The Cay shows them well. Should literature be judged on that alone, The Cay would be lively and enjoyable, but this is not the case. What some may see as breathing life back into old stories and ideas, I simply see as repetition of commonly known morals. The Cay, at most, is an even par book that barely creeps onto the green. My personal opinion and golf analogies aside, it would be only appropriate for The Cay to be given the time of day by young kids who enjoy survival novels.
Rating: Summary: Excellent for class reading!! Review: Our class just finished this book a couple of days ago. It was a great book with excellent vocabulary in it. It might not be one of the best books you ever read but, I suggest you read this for the summer or in your free time. In this book, a young boy named Phillip, which will become blind later on, and an old black man with excellent survival skills which is Timothy. They both get stranded on a cay, and Phillip is a bit prejudice, but everything changed while they were on the cay. In this book, you can learn not to judge a book by its cover, that's the lesson I learned. So I said, this is not one of the best books in the world but, you should check it out someday. Other books I recommend is: Sign of the Beaver, Popper's Penguins, The Mayflower, and soo much more I forgot!! All those are great for a group or class reading together. I recommend those books for 3rd-6th grade.
Rating: Summary: The Cay Review Review: In the book The Cay, by Theodore Taylor, the protagonist Philip, who is also the narrator, becomes blind, and is stuck with an old black man named Timothy on a forgotten island in the Caribbean. Philip has to learn to survive in spite of the prejudice his mother has taught him against black people. The book was hard to get through because I found it hard to read when there was a lack of interesting things going on, which tragically was most of the time. The book would be a better read if the plot was more eventful. Most things were right on the surface, and the narrator just said it as it is, so there was nothing to figure out, thus sometimes making the story even harder to read. There was also a lacking of seventh grade vocabulary and the plot was relatively predictable, almost as predictable as the sun rising and setting. An example when there was a lack of vocabulary and interesting plot, is when Timothy is about to die. Philip states that he thinks that Timothy might be growing old, and since he is teaching him how to survive, Timothy maybe even thinking about the possibility of his own death. This allows the reader to think, maybe Timothy will die, and then after the storm, sure enough, Timothy passes away and Philip is left alone on the island. There were also many times where the plot was built-up and you expected something to happen, but instead you were let down to something ordinary. Since this was an adventure novel, or at least attempted to be one, you might expect if they came upon an island, that there be a unique creature, or obvious antagonist throughout their time on the island, instead it was just their struggle for survival, and now we can get almost the same thing, and more entertainment from watching Survivor on CBS every Thursday night.
Rating: Summary: The Cay Review: The Cay is a book that sort of has random subjects that are identified by the author, but it feels like they are choosen out of the blue. The Cay was not the best book I had ever read. There was nothing making curious about what is going to happen next. The story wants you to put yourself in the characters place to feel what they felt, so if you don't like doing that, don't read this book. Personally, if this book was not assigned by my teacher, you would not see me with this book. But it depends on what sort of book you like, and if you like stories that are very strait-forward and not very intense, it recomend this book to you.
Rating: Summary: "The Cay",OK? Review: I had to read this book for am english calss, and it was ok. I didnt really enjoy the book but thats just me. I maen, this book isnt really my favorite type of book, I like lord of the rings type things. the story was great and the message was good too but I just dont like the way it was written, the narrative. but all in all it was not a bad book and it was not a book that I would like to hear about again. I read it, thats it. :-P
Rating: Summary: the cay Review: this was not a very good book and i would not advise any one who cares about their money to buy it. Its a waste of time and there are no parts which make you want to keep on reading, or have you wondering what is going to happen next and since it i an adventure story there should be plenty of those. the entire story seemed to be a bit rushed expecialy the end. it is a good novel study book because you can leave it and then come back and read it later but apart from that...it aint very good.
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