We all really enjoyed the book although no one was too keen on the idea of actually living on a deserted island themselves. But we thought that Nim was a very adventurous girl who was very resourceful and perfectly suited to island life.
We thought it must be very lonely for her to be on the island by herself with only her dad and her animal friends, Selkie and Fred to keep her company. We decided that if we were going to live on a deserted island we would definitely need a lot of things to make us comfortable including food, water, shelter, clothes, medicine, a very well stocked first aid kit, books, a computer, solar panels, a motorboat and at least one other person to keep us company.
We discussed Nim's relationship with Alex and the ways in which they are different and ways in which they are similar. We agreed that they both changed a lot over the course of the story and were able to teach each other new things and help each other grow.
All of us agreed that Jack should not have left Nim alone on the island because even though she is very capable of taking care of herself she is still a child and Jack's primary responsibility should be taking care of her. Even though his scientific research is very important to him, he should put Nim first.
It seems very likely that Alex will stay on the island with Nim and Jack at least for awhile and we are all hoping that they will become a family.
Following our discussion we did a Nim's Island map activity and crossword puzzle and enjoyed cupcakes.
It was a terrific meeting and thanks to all the Book Buddies members for coming out this year. We read some excellent books and had a lot of great discussions. Hope to see you all back in September!
