A World on the Island’s Edge

Hi everyone, I hope you’re all doing well.
Today, I’m reviewing A World on the Island’s Edge, by Matthew Rudd Reynolds.

About

Andi and Artie are twins. Sadly, their grandmother is developing dementia and the threat of the two siblings being separated seems right around the corner.

Set in Grey Cove, Andi is desperate to find a solution to her family’s problems when she has an unusual vision to save a golden dolphin calf. With the dolphin’s mother dead, Andi must protect him at all costs from a dark foe, while finding a way to save her little family from being broken apart.

Characters

Andi, not yet a teenager is very responsible for her age. This caring and empathetic girl risks a lot during the course of the story, often putting others ahead of herself. Family is of great importance to her and she will stop at nothing to protect them.

Artie (Andi’s twin brother) is a likely Autistic character and was well presented, as such. He was smart yet not very talkative, having a natural scientific understanding of the world and the universes principles. Although peculiar compared to the other characters, his introverted intelligence becomes readily apparent throughout the second half of the story, where he helps his sister to understand the concept of worm-holes and other scientific concepts that will aid them to protect the baby dolphin that has become part of their family.

The golden dolphin calf, Lux is a curious and playful character. His intelligence aids Andi in trying to find a solution to her current family troubles. He and Andi become fast friends, communicating through telepathy. The calf’s devoted and caring nature made Lux very likable for a non-human character.

Grandma Bea, the matriarch of the family begins the story with rapidly deteriorating dementia. Her loving nature was well displayed throughout, indicated by the few lucid moments she has to act upon. Throughout the course of the narrative, Lux’s abilities allow her to say a proper goodbye to her grandchildren amidst having the disabling condition.

Likes and Dislikes

One of my greatest loves of this book was the range of major and minor conflicts explored throughout. The sources of these conflicts varied and were well-developed, each adding a different facet of drama to the overall narrative.

I loved the detailed sketches included in the pages, giving the reader an idea of what the characters might actually look like.

One other particular love of mine was how Artie’s differences were so well explored. A great understanding of how his internal processing was different to most people was shown and had me strongly relating to him, as I’m on the Autism Spectrum myself.

My only dislike had to do with the formatting of the version I was reading, which I think could be altered slightly. However, this did not affect my experience of the story.

Quotes

Two particular quotes stood out to me within the novel.

1) ‘We can’t do things to people. We don’t know what their lives are like. We don’t know why they do the things they do.’

2) ‘Artie’s mind is like a labyrinth. And only he knows all the turns and crooks of that labyrinth- whenever you do come to the end of the labyrinth, it’s such a different way of seeing the world and how it works- there’s so much more.’

Take a moment to let each of these quotes sink in, to really understand the essence of their message.

Overview

Overall, A World on the Island’s Edge has been one of my favourite reads of 2020. I loved the sci-fi elements that were explored, along with the emotive nature of the overall story.

Rated 5 stars.
Recommended for lovers of urban fantasy with sci-fi elements.

To learn more about the book, please visit its Goodreads page.
To learn more about author Matthew Rudd Reynolds, please visit his page.