Island of the Loons

Island of the Loons by Dayton O. Hyde

176 pages, 5 1/2 x 7 Paperback. Ages 10 and up.

Out on his fishing boat during a terrible Lake Superior storm, fourteen-year-old Jimmy hopes to find survivors among a shipwreck. Instead, an escaped convict, floating among the wreckage, finds Jimmy—and takes him captive. The criminal keeps Jimmy on an uninhabited island where the boy lives as a forced-labor prisoner for more than a year. Little by little, Jimmy develops an interesting friendship with the criminal, teaching him to read and to appreciate the abundant wildlife around him. Then, an injury to the captor provides Jimmy with the perfect opportunity to escape. Jimmy must make a difficult decision: should he flee the island, or save his captor from a deathly situation.