Timothy of the Cay

In the novel The Cay, a young white boy and an old black man are stranded on a small sandy cay in the Caribbean Sea following a shipwreck. Eleven-year-old Phillip was blinded by flying debris when a torpedo struck the SS Hato, and old Timothy has taught him how to survive. This prequel-sequel tells the rest of their tale in alternating chapters--the compelling story of two very different people who share the courage and tenacity to turn their dreams into reality.

Taylor's sequel to The Cay was written over 20 years after the first book. The second book, can be described as a pre-quel. It highlights characters before The Cay and then flashes forward to Phillip's life after being rescued from the cay. The chapters flip-flop altering between story lines. I found myself reading alternate chapters and then going back and reading the other story separately. I'm not sure what this book was trying to solve, and it just doesn't measure up to the original, The Cay.

After reading this, one can understand Timothy's motivations for putting up with Philip the way he did in The Cay. This prequel/sequel gives you a new perspective on his death on that island in The Cay. I now see it as a sweet ending to Timothy's life, that he can look back at his mistakes and know that he's made amends. Being stranded together on that cay actually had been the most important thing that had ever happened to both of them! I enjoyed seeing a mature, likable Phillip!

I didn't like this book that much. But it was a very good book. Love the ascent of Timothy. He is my favorite character! Nice book really.

Just as well-written as the first book. However, this is the first time I've read this one. This is a different concept. In Timothy's story we learn about his life before "the Cay" and with Phillip's story, we learn about his life after his rescue from "the Cay."

--161/161

--Because this book was not my main book for SSR I have chosen to write a 2-3 sentence review on my rating:
Philip was now older and more curious about the island he had been stranded on. Philip is blind no more and plans to see the island. He sets out to find the Cay and realizes the truth about all the small lies Timothy had told him to protect him.

This is Theodore Taylor's sequal to The Cay. It is a prequal, and flashes back to events before those in The Cay and foward to Phillip's life after he is rescued. This is a great book for upper elementary grades.