Book Review: Nim's Island by Wendy Orr - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

Book Review: Nim's Island by Wendy Orr - Associated Content - associatedcontent.com

What a lovely and thoughtful review by Shannan Siegwart Small!

On a solitary island far removed from modern society lives a man and his daughter... thus begins the tale of Nim's Island the exciting and ironic novel written by Canadian-born Australian author Wendy Orr. The tale that
Orr weaves describes a life more exhilarative than any we could imagine in our gas-guzzling, bottom-line driven lives. Nim lives a simple life with her father Jack - studying the flora and fauna of the island, scheduling and conducting scientific experiments that are detrimental to their lifestyle, growing crops to feed them, weaving blankets to warm them, building a hut or stocking a cave to shelter them. Nim can handle most any task thrown at her - so when Jack leaves the island for a few days' excursion to study plankton, he is assured that she will be responsible and sound on her own. The journey for Jack takes longer than estimated and Nim is forced to fend for herself - with a marine iguana named Fred and a sea lion named Selkie. Most ironically, while Nim is facing the loneliest days she has ever known - being just a child herself - she befriends an author miles away in the city via email. Alex Rover, an adventure writer, lives out her days alone in her apartment and finds Nim's life a welcome distraction. When push comes to shove, Alex must come to Nim's rescue - across the miles - to become the hero she dreams of.

This book was a wonderful read and even more exciting than the movie. The details of the scientific experiments and the idea that the modern devices like email and cameras and satellite could be usable even in a self-sustaining setup like this is wonderful. Nim is a delightful character with spunk and imagination. Orr tells a beautiful tale of family and adventure in this story. I, for one, can't wait to read Nim at Sea to see what happens next!