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Summary: A very enthralling book......
Review: After reading this book about 5 times I have got into the routine of reading it again every summer as it reminds me of holidays and the sun. It really is a good book, it is a typical Adventure story and anybody ...even adults will love it. I am coming on 17 now and i still have not grown out of it!
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Summary: Children's Crusade
Review: Ballantyne's main purpose in writing "The Coral Island" was to provide an exciting adventure story for boys. This is borne out by the interesting and varied storyline. Another one of his intentions was clearly to educate. There are many examples of this, such as the detailed explanations concerning Ralph's aquarium. Since the boys are shipwrecked in the wild, most of this educational emphasis falls on the wonders of nature. Several chapters have the character of educational digressions, for instance, the chapter where the boys visit the penguins and the behaviour of that species is described. The most dated aspect of the book, which might be part of its charm for some readers, is its strong Christian morality. Ballantyne attempts to make his book morally instructive, and offers clear religious guidance throughout. Besides rhetoric extolling the benefits of Christianity, it also attempts to guide its impressionable young readers towards the Christian virtues by presenting the example of Ralph and his reflections. Just as the juvenile readership will identify with Ralph in his 'heroic' adventures, it can be expected they will also share his opinions regarding religion. An example of the Christian tone of the novel can be found in the description of the island scene at the beginning of chapter sixteen: "Oh! it was a sight fitted to stir the soul of man to its profoundest depths, and, if he owned a heart at all, to lift that heart in adoration and gratitude to the great Creator of this magnificent and glorious universe". "The Coral Island" endeavors to educate its readership and at the same time seeks to guide them along the path of Christian virtue. However, it is not just Christianity but the full range of British Victorian values that the author tries to instill. He devotes part of chapter eleven to recommending the benefits of cold baths and part of chapter fourteen to the imperative that they should force their attention "upon all things." "The Coral Island" reflects the spiritual and altruistic side of 19th-century European attitudes to the primitive World. While this was a time of intense colonialization and economic exploitation -- see Conrad's "Heart of Darkness" -- Ballantyne clearly rejects economic motives in determining conduct towards these peoples. He also rejects the idea, then common, that primitives must first be conquered and controlled in order to be improved. He believed that Christianity alone was strong enough to transform them. For instance, Ralph, commenting on "the natural depravity of the hearts of these poor savages," merely wishes "that missionaries might be sent out to them" -- he does not advocate conquest and colonialism as remedies. It is one of the most interesting and perhaps ridiculous points in Ballantyne's work that he regards the free acceptance of Christianity by the natives as being able to bring about all the benefits of European civilization. In the story, after they have undergone conversion, the natives are portrayed as being well on the way to civilization. The neat well-built village of the Christian natives is contrasted with that of the pagan ones. No longer do the Christianized islanders eat each other and indulge in human sacrifice, and no longer do they live in a semi-anarchic, semi-tyrannical state dominated by some brutal chief where the "weakest goes to the wall." The progress brought about by Christianity is at it's most evident in the Christian natives manning their own sailing ship, the native missionary ship. Ballantyne has an unshakeable faith in the sufficiency of voluntary Christianity to improve the conditions and conduct of the natives, and there is no hint in his novel that altruistic concern should lead to measures forced on the natives for their own good. Ballantyne also attempts to place naked economic motives beyond the pale of civilization by identifying them with the pirates, who represent the purely economic motifs of Europeans. "The Coral Island," despite its impeccable moral credentials, is also a statement of supreme confidence in European civilization and its Christian morality. Whereas the natives are transformed, the Europeans in the story remain blissfully unchanged by their experiences. This contrasts very strongly with "Heart of Darkness" where the character of Kurtz 'goes native' with horrific effects. The spiritually-minded Christian trio in "The Coral Island" are totally immune to their completely new environment. It was this case of schoolboy 'stiff upper lips' that later prompted William Golding to write "Lord of the Flies," presenting a much more believable picture of the way civilization breaks down and schoolboy morality unravels in the wild.
Rating: 
Summary: Written overall in a bad style, with an uncreative plot.
Review: Golding does an excellent paroday of this "book" with Lord of the Flies. The only good part is the description. I found that the story dragged on and on. The plot was so unoriginal! I've read a lot of adventure stories, but this was the worst. It makes me feel like just anybody can go off and write an adventure story, and a hundred years later its called a classic. Don't read this - read the best adventure story ever - The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne.
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Summary: Paperback version is abridged!
Review: I am unhappy to learn that the Penquin paperback edition of The Coral Island turns out to be an ABRIDGED edition. Amazon.com's description of this book does not mention this important detail. I only learned this fact by reading the book's back cover (and comparing it to the etext downloadable edition). Sadly, had I first looked up this book on Barnes & Noble.com I would have been told the book is abridged. Their description states: [BARNES & NOBLE.COM description] The Coral Island --- R.M. Ballantyne Retail Price: $3.99 --- Our Price: $3.59 --- You Save: $0.40 (10%) --- In Stock:Ships within 24 hours Format: Paperback, 296pp. --- ISBN: 0140367616 --- Publisher: Penguin USA --- Pub. Date: July 1995 Edition Desc: Abridged --- Recommend Age Range: 12 and up --- [End of description] Although the paperpack book is only $3.59, this little problem becomes a big issue -- how many of amazon's book offerings are less than the real thing?
Rating: 
Summary: Beware!
Review: I didn't realize this at the time, but it's abridged. Unabridged prints of this book are no longer available. In order to get such a copy, you will need to buy it used!
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Summary: Excellent Book for Young Teenage Boys! Really grabs them.
Review: I read this book when I was about 13 years old
I am now 51. This book turned me from a bored
young teenager to a world traveler
(thru reading), and a dedicated reader.
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Summary: Peterkin's island is a place to spend time
Review: I wonder how many people now alive were changed by Peterkin? Although I remember reading books by the ton when I was of an age, it was this book, above all, that made me understand the power of language in the hands of imagination. Perhaps some 32 years later, my mind still finds Peterkin when it stretches for its greatest fancy. It is not just the power of the book itself that is a wonder to me, but rather its power to make people into evangelists for reading. I am firmly convinced that is is a consciousness-changing experience to dwell a month on that island.
Rating:
Summary: Simply wonderful!
Review: If you're a lover of the sea and topical islands this book is for you. I put this up there with Treasure Island, Robinson Crusue, Swiss Family Robinson. As a Christian, R.M. Ballantyne keeps the faith as well as spins a tale of adventure! A must for parents to read to the family on those cold winter nights to come. It will warm the heart and the soul.
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Summary: Awesome, very descriptive, an all out good book
Review: Im only 12 and havent read too many books but this one cuts the cake! I especially like Jack Martin, even though hes not the main charactor. Peterkin is cool too!
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Summary: The book is an excellent reminder of my own early life
Review: In the english orphanage that I grew up in, the only book available to me was The Coral Island. Now @ age 45, whenever friends ask me about my life, travelling the world and living on an Island (Ambergris Caye) - I refer them to this very fine book.
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