Gary Paulsen's Island The book I read was Gary Paulsen's Island. It's about a 15-year-old boy named Wil Neuton who moves with his family to northern Wisconsin. There he finds an island on Sucker Lake where he stays to learn about himself. Wil likes to ride his bike early in the morning. He also likes to observe nature. He is very tall for his age (6-foot-2) but well built and strong. He is honest, cares about others and prefers to talk things out rather than resort to violence. The title is good because the book is mostly about the island and Wil finding himself on this island. The island also becomes a very important point in Wil's life. Through comparison and observation he learns that all things are connected. An interesting minor character is Emil Aucht. On the morning of his first day at Pinewood Wil wakes up to find Emil staring at him from the window. Emil is an old man with one tooth, no hair and protruding ears. He chews tobacco and spits brown gunk everywhere. He first appears in the story to ask Wil to help him get the car out of the mud. Then Emil reappears to fix the plumbing, upsetting Wil's parents. The atmosphere in the story is that of a small northern Wisconsin town: open, friendly, relaxed, and very laid back. I feel like it's a lot like the "cottage country" of Northern Ontario: lakes, forests, fishing, small town life. We are at the end of the 80s. The novel ends with Wil seeing his father watching him from the shore. Wil approaches and finds that his father is tired and sad, his eyes red from crying. Wil invites his father to the island and realizes that this saga will only end when Wil finds an island big enough for his entire family so they can learn what he has learned..