A adventure trilogy by Gordon Korman.
Composed of:
- Shipwreck (2000)
- Survival (2001)
- Escape (2001)
Or re-released as the Omnibus, "Island Trilogy Bind-Up Book", in 2006. Also called "Island Trilogy Special Edition", among other names.
Six kids, ages 11 to 14, all have some issue or problem in their past, leading them to a three-week sailing boot camp called Charting a New Course to teach them teamwork, self-respect, and how to raise sails.
Things quickly go awry when their captain goes overboard, the first mate abandons them, the boat sinks, and they end up marooned on an island and are forced to live off the land, alone.
Or are they? What if the other group on the island is more dangerous than leaving it?
Tropes In this Work Include:
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Siblings, not romantically. Lyssa when she finds out Will is missing, and again after he gets shot.
- Chekhov's Gun: J.J.'s monogrammed designer sunglasses. After his protection and refusal to lose them is constantly treated as a joke mocking his obsession with being The Rich Kid, one of the kidnappers tries to pawn them after taking him back to the mainland. This connection to the missing child of a celebrity leads the police to the kidnappers, which leads them to the island, allowing the kids to be rescued.
- Crazy Enough to Work: The plan for getting off the island.
- Deserted Island: Type II.
- Floral Theme Naming: Siblings Will and Lyssa were named after the flowers Sweet William and Sweet Alyssum.
- Idiosyncratic Episode Naming: Each of the books in the trilogy have a One-Word Title:
- Shipwreck
- Survival
- Escape
- Only Sane Man: Luke feels like this while on the Phoenix.
- One-Word Title: Mixed with Idiosyncratic Episode Naming. Each of the books in the trilogy:
- Shipwreck
- Survival
- Escape
- Precision F-Strike: The kids normally avoided cursing, so hearing J.J. rant about "sleepaway camp for the damned" was rather jarring.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: The whole gang.
- Sibling Rivalry: Will and Lyssa. A fist fight resulting in a broken nose and cracked ribs are what landed them here in the first place.
- Someday This Will Come in Handy: The reason Ian watched so much TV. It does, in fact, come in handy many times.
- Spoiled Brat: J.J.
- Spoiler Cover: Lyssa and J.J. are presumed dead after the first book, but they are still pictured on the cover of the second and third books.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- In the 3rd book, J.J. gets captured by the smugglers to make sure he can contact his dad while they have him hostage. He eventually realises that even though they're getting a large ransom, they wouldn't let someone who knows that they kidnapped a famous kid live.
- In the 3rd book, J.J. fires a gun. He then realizes the safety's on and turns it off. He gets hurt from the recoil and the gun flies out of his hand.
- Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: J.J. with everybody, but especially Luke and, to some extent, Charla.
