Lost Girls

May 28, 2012
When a plot involves castaway children, Lord of the Flies comparisons are inevitable, and Kelley (The Bower Bird) is upfront in claiming them. “We’re much more civilized,” 14-year-old narrator Bonnie boasts. The setting is an American airbase in Thailand during the Vietnam War, though details anchoring this time and place are scant. Bonnie and Jas are seniors in the Amelia Earhart Cadets, chaperoned by a young “kept” woman, Mrs. Campbell. Intending a weekend camping trip on one nearby island, the group winds up at another. No problem—until a typhoon sweeps over, killing a girl and decimating supplies. When no one retrieves them after the weekend, the veneer of self-reliance and camaraderie disintegrates. While Bonnie’s experience is traumatic, the emotional center of the novel is Mrs. Campbell, who passes from a subject of adoration to a person with feet of clay. The notion that the cool 20-something with the guitar isn’t as admirable as the 40-year-old mother who reads Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance—or as reliable as oneself—is well taken, but it’s unclear why Piggy and Vietnam are invoked to make that point. Ages 12–up.

June 1, 2012
A group of female campers are marooned on a wilderness island off the coast of Thailand during the Vietnam War. With a sly nod to Lord of the Flies, author Kelley drops Bonnie MacDonald, the 14-year-old daughter of an American serviceman, on a (not quite uninhabited) tropical island. Initially, Bonnie is thrilled. Not only is she there on a three-day camping trip with her fellow Amelia Earhart Cadets, the adventure is being led by her idol, the glamorous Layla Campbell. But almost immediately things begin to sour. The boat goes off course and the girls end up on the taboo Koh Tabu, which Bonnie's friend Jas translates as forbidden island. On their first night a storm hits, killing one of the younger girls and injuring another. The gruesome discovery of their boatman's body, and along with it the realization that nobody knows where they are, further amplifies the tension. What stands out is the anger and betrayal that Kelley's willful, survival-focused protagonist feels toward the weak, irresponsible Layla, as well as Bonnie's later condemnation of her own behavior, both of which can be seen as morally ambiguous and subject to multiple truths. Although the material could use some judicious cutting, it's strong and provocative, offering readers a forum to discuss friendship, blame, forgiveness and situational morality. (Historical fiction/adventure. 12 & up)

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September 1, 2012

Gr 8 Up-A three-day camping trip for a group of Amelia Earhart cadets goes horribly awry when they are marooned on a deserted island. The Scottish narrator, 14-year-old Bonnie MacDonald, is among the eight other girls whose military parents are stationed in Thailand during the Vietnam War. She notices that the boatman has delivered them to a different island than their last campout, but the young substitute chaperone, Layla Campbell, is naively unfazed. The weather deteriorates after an idyllic afternoon, and a fierce storm rages in the night, killing one of the youngest cadets. The possibility of an imminent rescue is squelched when the boatman's body and the boat wreckage wash up on shore, leaving the group panicked and shaken. Bonnie uses her journal to recall outdoor survival knowledge, such as the plant edibility test, to lead the group, although her efforts are thwarted by the "Glossies," cadets preoccupied with themselves and their appearance, and her irresponsible chaperone's reliance on drugs and alcohol. The plot is fast paced and gripping to the end, and details are gruesome enough to match the harsh realities of the dwindling group's predicament. Elements of Thai culture and the effects of the Vietnam War on it, as well as details about regional plant and animal life, add dimension and accuracy to the setting. This is a solid addition to survival adventure collections needing a strong, but realistic, female protagonist.-Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY

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