The Storm Keeper’s Island by Catherine Doyle - ESSENTIAL

The Storm Keeper’s Island by Catherine Doyle, 308 pages, Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2018, $17.

Language: PG (5 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Fionn Boyle, an 11yo boy, is experiencing the strangest summer of his life.  He and his sister, Tara, have been sent by their mother to stay with their grandfather on Arranmore Island.  The island is mysterious and seems to have a life of its own; one that seems more and more intertwined with Fionn’s.  Fionn’s eccentric grandfather is the Storm Keeper of Arranmore and once in a generation, the island chooses a new one. While the shift in power over a Storm Keeper is awakens an old rivalry, an ancient and deadly evil is awakening. 

Doyle crafts stunning prose that lifts the story line.  I found myself marking pages to quote later.  Catherine Doyle’s love of Irish myths and legends shines through her story. The characters are quirky and witty, and the story is not only about Fionn and Arranmore Island, but family and love and sacrifice and bravery.  The story wraps up enough to let you put the book down with a sigh, but there is definitely more to come and I will be waiting with anticipation.  

Michelle in the Middle, Teacher