“Like silent, hungry sharks that swim in the darkness of the sea, the German submarines arrived in the middle of the night.”

From Theodore Taylor’s The Cay.

Philip Enright is traveling with his mother from Curaçao to Virginia, because the start of World War II has filled the area with deadly German submarines.  When their ship, the S. S. Hato, is attacked by the Germans, the eleven-year-old boy soon finds himself stranded in the ocean with Timothy, a black man, and Stew Cat, the old man’s cat.  While drifting on the ocean, Timothy cares for Philip because a head injury during the attack left the boy blind.  After some time, the trio drifts to an island and they are able to make it to shore.  Philip’s racist upbringing makes the boy resentful and disrespectful towards Timothy, but over time the boy lets his hatred go in exchange for a strong friendship with the man.  The island is very small, but the island’s cay does allow Timothy, Philip, and Stew Cat the opportunity to collect fresh water and fish.  As the months pass and the island remains undetected by rescuers, Timothy teaches Philip how to survive in the wild, even without his sight.  However, when a hurricane hits the small island, Timothy’s sacrifice to protect Philip soon leaves the boy alone with Stew Cat, but thanks to Timothy’s training, Philip has the strength to carry on until rescue arrives.

This survival novel has historical fiction elements that will captivate readers of all ages from start to finish.  Philip’s racism in the first portion of the book can be hard to stomach, but his the genuineness of his later reconciliation  and friendship with Timothy helps keep the story from being negatively unbalanced.  Some situations in the book could be unsettling for some readers, but fans of survival stories will find The Cay impossible to put down.