Kensuke’s Kingdom. Another “boy stranded on a deserted island” story?
Yes, and I wasn’t expecting much. I doubt I would have picked this one up if it hadn’t been free. Yes, it’s Michael Morpurgo, but he has disappointed me before. I love War Horse, but disliked the sequel, Farm Boy, and wasn’t impressed with An Elephant in the Garden.
One of the first problems in this sort of story is that the author has to contrive to separate the child from his parents. This isn’t The Swiss Family Robinson. The boy must be left alone. A handy device is divorced parents a la Hatchet. It’s also possible for the child to be involved in an accident while traveling on his own, such as in The Black Stallion. It’s enough to make parents refuse to ever let their children go anywhere!
In this story, there is an accident while Michael is sailing, but he is with his parents at the time. They are a small, happy family on a trip around the world in their yacht. It’s not an every-day situation, to be sure, but I found it refreshing that the parents aren’t the bad guys.
When Michael ends up washed ashore on an island in the Pacific Ocean, he isn’t completely alone–he has his dog. Sometimes the dog is part of the problem, sometimes she’s helpful, and she doesn’t die in the end.
It isn’t long before Michael discovers that he is not the only human on the island. But the other person isn’t at all happy to see Michael. Why the man is there and why he doesn’t appreciate company is a mystery that unfolds over time. He may be a recluse, but he isn’t going to watch Michael starve or get hurt without trying to help him.
The story is as much about the relationship between Michael and Kensuke as it is about deserted island survival. Kensuke has been on the island for a very long time, and considers it his kingdom. He considers the animals to be under his care, and he does his best to guard them from hunters.
As Emperor of the island, can Kensuke desert his subjects when the chance comes to be rescued? You will find out in about 160 pages. It is a fairly quick read at a middle-grade level. It is a story about adventure, love, faith, friendship, resourcefulness, art, and beauty, and it is absolutely worth finding out how it ends.
This book is available at Amazon.