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The Other Side of the Island by Allegra Goodman (Dystopian Fiction)

The Other Side of the Island is a dystopian fiction book. The main character, Honor, is a 10-year-old girl who moves from the north to a mysterious island with her mom and dad. When they move there, they are poor. Their house is falling apart, and most of their belongings have not arrived yet. Honor’s parents apply to a school for her to go to. When she begins going to her new school, Honor realizes that the school has very strict rules. All the girls in her class are the same. Honor stands out because her name doesn’t make the “h” sound, her family is poor, and she becomes friends with a boy named Helix. The weather and natural environment usually appears perfect and seems controlled.  At times there are terrible storms that scare Honor. Honor tries to follow all the rules on the island in order to fit in with the others, but her parents keep breaking rules.  Unlike the other families, her parents have a second child, and they chose names for their children that are very different. Honor’s parents become close with Helix’s parents and they start sneaking out late and missing curfew. Together, Honor and Helix begin to discover that the island has secrets and the Earth Mother is hiding things from the people of the island. One of the mysteries is figuring out what happens to the people that do not follow the rules of the island, including Honor’s parents.

I really liked this book because it was very mysterious. The island has many secrets and Honor is slowly trying to figure them out. I like how Honor is faced with the difficult choice to either follow the island’s rules or break the rules and save her family. In the beginning, she thought it was important to fit in. Then she realizes that the island is not what it seems, and she changes her mind about following the rules. I also liked that Honor was so brave when she was saving her parents and how she took responsibility for taking care of her younger brother when her parents were missing. I think it may have been helpful to the reader if the author provided more background information about the island in the beginning of the book. Although this made it a little confusing to follow the story at first, it added to the mystery of the island and it became clearer as I continued to read the story. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys reading a mystery or enjoys seeing how a main character faces a challenging decision. 

Reviewed by Olivia T. 7th Grade

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