Theo (Theodore Boston Bellview) is on a yacht cruise with his dad, stepmother Lyn and stepsister Mozzie (I wonder if this is a short form of a different name?). Theo feels left out and the cruise is very disappointing plus it feels as though his dad is giving all of his attention to Mozzie. He misses their previously close relationship. As this newly blended family journey across the ocean a wild storm hits their boat, and Theo is swept into the sea. Theo is the sort of kid who lives with hundreds of facts and hundreds of worries, so he has bought a survival pack along on the cruise. Luckily his pack is on his back when he falls into the ocean and luckily his stepsister has somehow managed to toss him a life ring. Unluckily the boat sails away and Theo is swept onto a small, presumably deserted tropical island. Surely it will not be very long before Theo is rescued but alas this is not the case. Hunger and more importantly thirst takes over and so Theo feels compelled to walk away even though he knows he should stay put. He desperately needs to find water and eventually he does but even more surprisingly he also finds an older woman who has created a small hut from the rubbish that has washed up on the shore. She has named this Trash Beach.
(She) "wore a filthy lavender-coloured dressing-gown and a tattered sheepskin slipper on one foot and a too-big orange Croc on the other. And (she) lent heaving on a gnarled stick ..."
My first reaction to this book was to laugh at the highly improbable scenario but by the final chapters I was actually enjoying the 'ride' and I did read this book in almost one sitting. You do, however, have to suspend disbelief in this book although I do realise younger readers aged 9+ won't read this tale with my 'cynical eye'.
How lucky that Theo:
- has small survival kit containing: a five-piece mini survival pack with screw drivers, a penknife, whistle, compass, a torch and a ferro rod for starting a fire; two small cans of baked beans; a used snake-bite bandage; 3 metres of rope; 3 pencils; a pen and a notepad.
- has participated with his local scout's group where he has learned skills such as knot tying.
- has a head full of fast facts about all sorts of dangers. (These are interesting but also, at times, very funny).
The issue of the way we have polluted our oceans is one you might want to discuss with your library group - this is vividly presented when we read Professor Staggered has made a fence around her hut using discarded toothbrushes. There is also the moral dilemma of finding and exposing an extinct animal knowing it is sure to be exploited if taken out into the world. I also suggest using page 119 if you plan to book talk The Lost Island with your class or library group - it is the scene where Theo covers his skin with stinging nettles - painful yes but also very funny.
I really appreciated the map of the island:
Huge thanks to UQP for sending me an advance copy of The Lost Island - this book was published earlier this month (August 2026). You will find teachers notes and a book extract here. The teachers notes are very detailed and so I suggest you only select a few of the questions as a way to guide a discussion with your class.
Companion books with the theme of islands and survival:
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