“The Mysterious Island,” by Jules Verne

“The Mysterious Island,” by Jules Verne is a fascinating survival tale that is part sequel to his earlier “20000 Leagues Under the Sea.”

“The Mysterious Island” is the tale of five men and a dog who crash their balloon on a mysterious island in the middle of the Pacific. At first glance, the story is a survival tale in classic form: five men wrecked on a distant island, with no food or supplies. However, the focus of the story, is not merely struggles to survive, but more importantly how man is master of his own fate. Interestingly the story contains two elements.

The first element is the men's own efforts to conquer nature using the island's natural resources. Among other endeavors the men create bricks, refine metal, make dynamite and batteries, and partly drain a lake. But there is a second element in “The Mysterious Island.” A strange benevolent force on the island saves the men from disaster numerous times, saving their lives, helping them to repel wild animals and fight off a group of attacking pirates. The five men are only partly self-sufficient; ultimately it is this powerful benefactor that will save and sustain them from the book's start to end. The castaways may be able to conquer nature in some aspects, but nature's mighty power will ultimately conquer them.

I found “The Mysterious Island” fascinating because of the interrelations between these two elements. Jules Verne gives first one, then the the other, the upper hand. In the end, neither win out, but the contrast makes a wonderful reading experience.

If you have read “20000 Leagues Under the Sea” you will enjoy “The Mysterious Island” because its enigmatic Captain Nemo makes an appearance toward the end. “The Mysterious Island” explains more about Captain Nemo's past and his motivation for making the sea his home.

In short “The Mysterious Island” is a marvelous novel that is among the best of Jules Verne's works that I have ever read.

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“Ruby Holler,” by Sharon Creech

“Ruby Holler,” by Sharon Creech is a novel about twin orphans who find a new home with an older couple at their beautiful country home.

Dallas and Florida have been the scourge of the Boxton Creek Home since the day they were found in a box on the front porch of the orphanage. Though the twins are sent to many different foster homes, each potential family sends them back in despair. No one wants to put up with their clumsiness and mistakes.

When an eccentric older couple agrees to accept these “trouble twins” into their home Dallas and Florida are at first mistrustful.

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Review of "Ruby Holler," by Sharon Creech

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“Kopek the Destroyer,” by Phil Owens

“Kopek the Destroyer,” by Phil Owens is a humorous but rather awkward tale of a destructive puppy and the efforts of its owner to keep it under control.

The story begins with a rather long and drawn out explanation of the author’s life and history with various pets, from rabbits to a grumpy dog named Tim adopted from the Blue Cross. Since the title and main theme of the book is supposed to be about a dog named Kopek I was at first a little mystified, but I read on.

Over the first 22 pages of the book Phil Owens describes how the family acquires another rabbit, a kitten, and various other animals. Eventually, he finally gets around to introducing Kopek.

Phil Owens and his wife find Kopek through an advertisement at their local pet supply store. At first they are a little skeptical about the description, which says that the puppies for sale are part Malemute, Husky, German Shepherd, and Czech Wolfhound. The breed is called the British Inuit. As these puppies are purebred they cost five hundred pounds, each, but after a little research Phil Owens decide that one of the puppies would be worth the investment.

Little do they know, but the new puppy Kopek is going to cost them a lot more than five hundred pounds. It isn’t long before they realize that Kopek is going to be more trouble than all the pets that they have ever had before. It starts during the very first night when he howl all through the sleeping hours because he was left downstairs.

And then they discover that Kopek likes to chew things. Any toys that they buy him are completely destroyed within hours. Before long Kopek starts his career of destroying things around the Owens' home. The following hundred pages go into great detail about every sneaky trick and destructive habit that Kopek develops during his puppy years.

At first the antics of Kopek are funny, but after the first ten or twenty similar passages about him destroying something it starts to get tiring. By the time that Phil Owens describes him chewing up the inside of the car, destroying the steering wheel and driver’s seat I was really getting irritated.

I think that overall the plot of Kopek becomes a little bit strained. From my own experience I can say that I got tired of the repetition and sort of skimmed through some of the passages. “Kopek the Destroyer” is just too much of a good thing.

If, however, you want to read 140 pages about a young dog destroying everything that you can imagine, then “Kopek the Destroyer” is the book for you.

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