Books like Scar Island by Dan Gemeinhart
Jonathan Grisby, a twelve‑year‑old with a troubled past, is conscripted into Slabhenge Reformatory School for Troubled Boys—a former lunatic asylum now run by a sadistic headmistress who delights in pitting the boys against one another. During a storm, a lightning strike annihilates the adults and plunges the girls and boys into a sudden, desperate freedom. But their freedom is only temporary, as the reformatory itself sits on Scar Island, a place that appears to be slowly sinking beneath the ocean.
The novel explores the harsh conditions of reformatories, the cruelty of authority figures, and the dynamics of bullying and survival among young teens. Jonathan and his peers must navigate the physical decline of Scar Island as well as the emotional turmoil of guilt, isolation, and the struggle to stay alive.
First publish date: 2016
Genre: Children's Fiction/Children's Adventure
Authors: Dan Gemeinhart
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