Joshua's Island

I recommend this book to anyone from the age of 10 all the way up to adulthood. I am 31 years old myself; I just read it and loved every moment of it, and am sure that anyone who has any experience as child whatsoever will enjoy it thoroughly, as well.

As someone who was tormented growing up and someone who is currently raising a middle school girl, Joshua's Island really struck a chord with me. Told from the rotating perspectives of Joshua, a bullied, sullen child, and Eve, his out-going science partner, this story beautifully depicts the harsh reality of what it means to be on the outside looking in. Hodges skillfully crafts each diary entry so the reader feels the heartache of each painful day, and although from an adult perspective it may seem, at times, over-the-top, I can assure you it's a realistic take as emotions are magnified during this stage of growing up. This book is a wonderful reminder that there is a part of each of us longing to fit it and so showing kindness to others in our daily life is time well spent, even as adults. Bravo to Hodges for crafting such a lovely novel. Looking forward to sharing his other offerings with my family.

Joshua's Island was a lovely, emotional read. I thought the way Mr. Hodges dealt with bullying and the feelings of isolation and hopelessness it causes was spot on. The hero, Joshua, had my heart from the beginning. Here was a child who had been utterly alone for three years through no fault of his own, ostracized because of nasty rumors and picked on because of his small stature.

The heroine, Eve, was a harder sell at first. She threw away true friendship for popularity and was very naive about the price she would have to pay. I was happy when she quickly learned the error of her way. I also like that Hodges didn't make Eve's path easy. Because she stood up for what was right, she too was ostracized and her meteoric rise to popularity was eclipsed by the speed of her fall.

The relationship between Eve and Joshua was beautiful and organic. Two kids have never needed each other more. I loved that Eve brought Joshua out of his shell, and Joshua helped Eve believe that she could be forgiven for her past sins.

With wonderful supporting characters like the firecracker Kelsey and Eve's adorable sisters, Hodges really rounds out the secondary cast. I love how Joshua started out alone on his Island and as his relationship with Eve progressed, kept adding castaways like Eve's best friends Susan and Emily.

The villains in this book weren't just the bullies Rhonda and Brent, but also the adults who preferred to ignore the problem rather than deal with what was really going on in the school. Again, I felt that Hodges really got that right.

The only reason I gave this book four stars instead of five is because I didn't feel Joshua's parents were fleshed out enough. Eve's family was very real to me. I had a clear picture in my mind of her mother and sisters. Eve's mother, when she found out what was going on at school, jumped into action and really tried to save the day. We are told early on Joshua's parents aren't around much, and that he had been hiding or excusing his physical injuries for three years. I guess I can buy that maybe they wouldn't notice if they weren't around, but three years is a very long time to hide that type of violence. And when Joshua finally confessed all to his mom, I was underwhelmed by her reaction. She was more than happy to let Eve's mom take on the burden of saving her son. She never contacted the principal herself or a lawyer or the bullies' parents. I just didn't buy it, especially as Joshua kept insisting his parents and sister were such great people.

Despite my issues with Joshua's family, I think this was a very moving book and would recommend it to both young adults and adults.