Timothy of the Cay by Theodore Taylor Ages 9-12 176 pages Harcourt April 2007 Paperback     Eleven-year-old Phillip has been missing for two months after disappearing into the sea in the aftermath of a torpedo strike against the ship on which he was traveling. Phillip’s mother, also on board, survived the strike and was rescued and returned to the mainland. Phillip’s mother and father have continued to hope that Phillip will be found and rescued. Stranded on a small cay (pronounced key) in the Caribbean, Phillip has learned to survive with the help of an elderly man whose destiny placed him aboard Phillip’s ship the night the torpedo struck. Timothy is a large, wise black man whose muscles are strong and tough. Timothy has lived the life of a seaman since age fourteen, when he got his first job on a boat and began to live his dream. Together Timothy and Phillip, in the company of a stranded cat, live day to day on the island. Timothy teaches Phillip to eat and provide shelter for himself, even though he has been blind since the night of the explosion. This prequel/sequel to The Cay, originally published in 1969, takes the reader back, thus the prequel, and forward, thus the sequel. The reader will learn what events in Timothy’s life brought him to this place in time. The reader also sees what happens to Phillip after his rescue from the island. The story, moving back and forth from Timothy’s past to Phillip’s present, is dramatic, inspirational and leaves you with the sense that you have sat next to these characters and heard their story firsthand.     web reviews   Joyce Rice/2008 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)