This tale of a small group of boys and men stranded on a remote island off Scotland's coast in the 1700s, is much more than an adventure story. The party of fowlers has been left on the island, as they have been every year, to harvest birds and feathers for use on the larger island where their small community resides, living meager lives of subsistence. When the boat to ferry them home fails to arrive, the superstitious party begins to think that the world may have ended in a catastrophic or celestial event, and they have somehow been forgotten. Geraldine McCaughrean brings life to the birds (the island's only inhabitants) and the party's grueling work of survival, and also to the mental struggles each person faces according to his own personality and beliefs. Some similarities can be drawn to both the cruelty and devolution of [Lord of the Flies] and the more uplifting [Frederick] by Leo Lionni. Where The World Ends offers a bit of both. The hunting group are are simple, quiet, and practical folk—no strangers to harsh and cooperative work. McCaughrean's descriptive passages imbue their thoughts and surroundings with an emotional liveliness that fully immerses the reader. She is a master storyteller. Based on a true story. ( )

It is summer on the remote island of St. Kilda, and a group of men and boys are preparing for the annual hunting journey to Warrior Stac, a small, barren, rocky island in the outer Hebrides. A small boat ferries them to the outcropping and drops them off, and the small band immediately sets to work preparing a shelter for the next few weeks and commencing hunting of the seafowl who visit the island to nest this time of year. All goes swimmingly, their haul bountiful, until it becomes apparent that the return boat isn't coming for them.

I quite enjoyed this novel (I admit to being somewhat partial to survival/adventure tales), as well as McCaughrean's writing. For a while I thought we were heading down a road to full-blown Lord of the Flies, but thankfully, though it was at times disturbing, the breakdown of society didn't sink quite to that level, and the story had sufficient nuance and imagination to make it distinct. That it was based on true events was icing on the cake. ( )

This wasn't for me despite being a fan of the author descriptive writing style. I was left bored and disinterested in the story, and more often than not, found myself zoning out and not really paying attention to what was happening. Unfortunately this was a miss for me but I will definitely consider giving this another try in the future.

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McCaughrean's The White Darkness is one of my absolute favorite books, and may have started my love for stories of harsh survival and exploration. When I saw she had a new one out I was THRILLED. I had no idea of the incident she's telling here, so I definitely learned something (like how to make a candle out of a petrel!).

But it just wasn't the same. I'm actually a little scared to go re-read The White Darkness now, in case the writing was just as clunky and stilted in that book. There's not a lot of character development and a few inconsistencies, but a pretty solid read. ( )

In 1727, a group of boys and three men set off from Hirta for the yearly bird hunt on Warrior Stac, this time, though, the boat doesn't come back for them after the usual couple of weeks. Loosely based on true events, this YA novel and Printz Honor Book tells the story of how the boys (and three adults) learned to survive as the weeks turned into months with no signs of rescue.
Think a slightly gentler Lord of the Flies, but with Scottish accents. In other words, it's excellent and I loved it. There's a wide range of characters among the boys (and three adults) and McCaughrean does a great job imagining what their reactions and interactions would be to being stranded for so long. I'm fascinated with the idea that this is based on actual events and I really want to learn more about Hirta's history. Oh, and I highly recommend the audio version - Angus King's accent is beautiful and, of course, perfect for this text. ( )