100 Pages A Day...Stephanie's Book Reviews

Abigail Maduro lives a carefree life in Panama in 1916, she is the 16 year-old daughter of a wealthy merchant. That is, until her parents die in a tragic accident and her family lawyer leaves her with nothing to her name.  Abigail is shipped off to St. Thomas, where her Aunt Esther has reluctantly agreed to take her in.  Abigail immediately finds trouble upon the boat to St. Thomas and begins to search for German spies aboard.  The trouble follows Abigail when she gets to St. Thomas.  Not only is her Aunt Esther spiteful and abusive, but Abigail finds a German U-boat deserter to hide in her basement.  Luckily, Abigail has the help of Aunt Esther's staff, Nana Jane. 

Filled with spy intrigue from the beginning , the plot of Spy Island kept me interested throughout.  Abigail's character was a little hard for me to attach to and in the beginning of the book she seems much younger than her sixteen years.  However, this is also a coming-of-age story and Abigail does grow throughout.  This quote describes Abigail's character perfectly: " The truth is, when adventure calls, I race out and greet her.  Can I help it if I always forget to bring along my parasol?"  I was glad that Abigail found Erich, even though her decisions seemed ignorant at the time, Erich's character and backstory  shone through and provided for scheming and conspiracy.  I enjoyed learning about Danish West Indies during this time period, before they were part of the USA.  The history and setting was well researched and brought to life.  One thing that I wish was better in this one was the dialogue, something just did not seem natural about it, and at more than 300 pages this can become something difficult to overlook.