![]() ![]() ![]() Readers will quickly see that conditions on the island are more physically dangerous than in Fran’s squalid apartment-but much less emotionally treacherous. Fran is intensely protective of Johnny against both their mother, Cassie-a rather pathetic figure dependent on pot and alcohol-and Cassie’s predatory boyfriend and quasi-pimp. (Both characters seem to be white.) Events on the island alternate with Fran’s memories of what led up to her current situation: she set fire to a wing of her London school, seriously (though accidentally) injuring a young teacher who, intending to help, was responsible for the removal into protective custody of Fran’s biracial younger brother, Johnny. ![]() Levez keeps the stakes agonizingly high as Fran fights for her life, making incremental gains, trying to prevent catastrophic losses, and slowly forging a deep bond with another castaway, Rufus. When that plane crashes into the Indian Ocean en route to Indonesia, Frances climbs aboard a life raft, floating to a small island. She likens herself to the gorgon Medusa, longs to be as emotionless as a rock, and drops dark hints about the crime that landed her on an airplane bound for a rehabilitative adventure experience. Sixteen-year-old Frances Stanton considers herself a monster. A teen struggles against both nature and her own past experiences in a reflective survival tale. ![]()
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