In teacher-librarian Dan Gemeinhart's (The Honest Truth; Some Kind of Courage) thrilling and darkly comedic third novel, Scar Island, 12-year-old Jonathan Grisby is sentenced to 10 weeks at Slabhenge Reformatory School for Troubled Boys. Sixteen juvenile offenders and eight adults occupy Slabhenge, an Alcatraz-like former insane asylum "surrounded on all sides by the foaming sea." Presiding over the island is the Admiral, a tyrannical warden with a penchant for chocolate, full naval dress and excessive corporal punishment. The Admiral believes that through work and necessary discipline, he can rehabilitate the "[b]loody, disgusting little scabs" in his charge. He never gets that chance with Jonathan.
During "Morning Muster," a deadly lightning storm leaves the Slabhenge students devoid of adult supervision and the boys are left to fend for themselves. They reluctantly rally around Sebastian, an older boy with a violent, authoritarian streak and the longest tenure at Slabhenge: "He called us scabs right?... You know what you get when you keep picking at a scab?... You get a scar, idiots... scars are tough... This ain't Slabhenge anymore!... It's Scar Island... Say it!" As the boys revel in their newfound freedoms--eating gluttonously, exploring hidden corridors, reading Robin Crusoe aloud--tensions rise among them. The stakes intensify further when the storm of the century threatens to wipe out the entire school.
With a nod to William Golding's Lord of the Flies and other survival tales, Scar Island delves deeply into the guilt, regret and shame that can consume a person's life. Friendship, however, can be the antidote to many hardships, and redemption may be just within reach. --Casey Stryer, publishing assistant, Shelf Awareness