✨Isle of Ever (2025)

By Jen Calonita

4Rbooks                                5/6                grades         4-8

Amazon                                 4.4/5             grade level   4-8

Goodreads                             4.08/5          

Common Sense Media             5/5               ages 10+

309 pages

Synopsis

Everly’s grandmother had died and her mom lost her job.  Ever since they have been moving from place to place, job to job.  Everly was tired of being the new girl who never stays long enough to truly make friends.

A man shows up one day with news that Everly is in line for a big inheritance from her great, great, and more greats grandmother from 1825. She had left instructions to find Everly in 2025 and tell her about the will. There is no explanation as to how she knew Everly would be alive at this time.

The man explains that Evelyn, the long-ago grandmother, had left letters and journals with a puzzle involved that needed to be solved.  If Everly could solve the puzzle by June 12^th, she would inherit her family’s fortune, including a mansion on the coast and an inn providing regular income, things Everly and her mom haven’t had for many years.

They move to Greenport off of Long Island, New York so Everly can solve the puzzle and win the game. There she is helped by a new friend, Zara, and a local boy named Ryan. They need to find a mysterious island that only shows up every 200 years during a Blood Orange Moon. There they might find a treasure, but it might be cursed, and children who were stranded there in 1825. Time starts to move quickly as the deadline approaches.

Parental Guidelines:    medium low

Benny’s mom has had trouble holding on to jobs and they have had to move a lot.  Benny has few friends because she is always starting over somewhere new.

Benny’s mom hasn’t always dated great guys in the past.

There are uses of mild but coarse language at times in the book.

Benny and her friends Zara and Ryan (and Evelyn during her time) go off by themselves and put themselves in dangerous situations.

During Evelyn’s time there is a whooping cough epidemic in town and many are dying.

The story centers around a mysterious island and a cursed treasure that gives people immortality but also traps them on the island.

There is a rich family that has been in control of the town for 200+ years and bullies people to get their way.

Recommendation

            I enjoyed reading this book until the end.  I knew there was a book 2, but I didn’t know that the first book would end in a cliffhanger. I was ready to continue reading, but book 2 doesn’t come out until March 10. Not quite as frustrating as a TV cliffhanger and waiting until the nest year, but still annoying. I’ve ordered the new book and will make sure and review it ASAP.

            This is a very creative story that weaves the events with Evelyn in 1825 with events 200 years later with Everly in 2025. There are both real-world and supernatural elements to the story.  The “game” is intriguing and the reader admires Everly’s problem solving to process clues and reach conclusions. Some questions remain unanswered but that’s probably where book 2 comes in.  

            There are many historical elements to the story that would provide extension activities for teachers and home-school parents. There are also opportunities for discussions on immortality, the pros and cons (live forever but never grow older and see your friends and family grow old and die.)