Orphan Island

At least one point in their lives, an author writes a book for themselves. Something that they can relate to better than anyone else, and I think for Laurel Snyder, this was one of those books. That said, I don’t understand how it worked for anyone else. There is a very distinct scene where Jenny gets her period and sees this as a punishment, and this thought process is never corrected, which is very disturbing. I also didn’t like the overall theme that everyone will eventually feel the same way and they all have to do the same thing. I get that the story isn’t to be taken literally, but it’s written for kids who are going to take it literally, and I feel that if they do end up learning lessons from this book, it’s not going to be the ones Snyder wished to convey. The idea that eventually you have to set out on your own and it may be scary at first, but you’ll be okay - are both lost in everything else that is happening. At the very least I feel there should have been some revelation about things happening for a reason, because that would’ve portrayed the idea that people grow up at their own pace. But there wasn’t even that. The ending left me with no heartfelt emotion, no happy or right feeling to accompany the sad, making it seem as if Jenny didn’t really learn what she was supposed to. Which, when it comes right down to it, is how I feel. Jenny missed the real lesson. I have many other issues with this book: the world building, the side characters, the weird mystery elements that amounted to nothing, but I’ll save all that. I just want to focus on the books core. I think this is a book written by Snyder for Snyder. It should have sat on her shelf amongst all her other works, and she should have held it near and dear to her heart. In all seriousness, writers need those passion projects. They’re why we write. I just don’t think this book should have been published.