The Lost Island of Tamarind
by Nadia Aguiar

Release Date: 1st Jan 2009
Publisher: Puffin
ISBN: 978 0 1413 2386 2
RRP: £5.99

Average Customer Rating:

(5.0 based on 2 ratings)

A surprisingly engaging treat...

Being at sea and ending up lost and stranded on a strange island is hardly going beyond the ordinary popular children's fiction theme, so it was with some reluctance that I picked up The Lost Island of Tamarind. It starts out unchallenging enough, with a teenage daughter stuck on a boat called the Pamela Jane along with her infinitely annoying younger brother, Simon, and her baby sister, Penny. Maya is bored of being at sea and has ceased to revel in the magic of the ocean and all its secrets. Instead she has resorted to bemoaning her current life and constantly demands her marine biologist parents let her live on land with Granny Pearl.

Inevitably, there is a story about a strange island full of singing giants, glowing creatures and of course, danger. Dismissed as an old wives tale, it isn't until a storm blows their ship off course, the children are separated from their parents and they end up forcefully landed on a beach on just such a strange island; that Maya and her brother have to come to terms with the fact that the story might just be true. Determined to reunite her brother and baby sister with their parents, they all set off into the mysterious and foreboding jungle and headlong into an extraordinary adventure.

Despite all my misgivings and the indisputable fact that the plotline has in essence been done to death on various levels, it was with some surprise then that I found myself enthralled by The Lost Island of Tamarind. Author, Nadia Aguiar, breathes life into the imaginary island and fills the pages with nose-to-nose action. Whilst the characters aren't that well defined, they almost seem secondary to the development of the island's character - Helix comes out as the most intriguing. The best bit? If the ending is anything to go by, we might be looking out for a sequel.

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28 January 2011: Anonymous wrote:
The lost island of tamarind is the best book i have ever read in my life! i would recomend it to anybody no matter what type of books they like. Maya penny and simon go on an exciting adventure to find theyre parents however on the way they bump into lots of strange people and creatures. i rate this book 5 / 5

13 July 2010: Esme wrote:
'The Lost Island of Tamarind' is an absolutely astonishing and mind-bending read! And although I'm not sure what age group this book is aimed at, I would recomend it to adventurous and quest seeking teenagers, who are easily sucked into a world of mystery; fear; and excitment. When I read it, I found that it was as if I was actually there, with Maya; Simon; Penny and Helix, experiencing their amazing adventure with them!
This book changed the way I saw things, and as a thirteen year old girl with many ideas and a huge imagination, I think this is probably the best book I have ever read.