Shipwrecked on a tiny Caribbean island, Philip must overcome his prejudice towards Timothy, the old black sailor who becomes the key to his surviva...
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Dec 17, 2009
Helen
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The Cay is a book about a boy named Phillip Enright living in the time of a world war II (1942). When German U-boats surround the island of Curacao, his mother who is frightened wants to go back to the Netherlands and take her son with her. Her husband who has to work was not able to leave, Phillips mother complained and eventually won the argument. Phillip and his mother say goodbye to Phillips father and they sail away on a ship. The ship becomes shipwrecked and Phillip and his mother get thro
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Apr 08, 2009
Abbey
rated it: 
It was good but in some parts it was sad
2 comments
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(3 people liked it)
Feb 28, 2011
Ian
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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(1 person liked it)
May 18, 2008
Jen
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D'Ette had to read this book for school and she loved it. She asked me if I would also read it.
It's a children's book, so it doesn't take long to read. I read the whole thing in about two hours.
It's easy to see why the book won literary awards and was made into a movie. It's a great story, told from the point-of-view of 12-year-old Philip, who gets lost at sea with a black man after the boat he is traveling in with his mother is attacked by Germans. Philip loses his s More...
It's a children's book, so it doesn't take long to read. I read the whole thing in about two hours.
It's easy to see why the book won literary awards and was made into a movie. It's a great story, told from the point-of-view of 12-year-old Philip, who gets lost at sea with a black man after the boat he is traveling in with his mother is attacked by Germans. Philip loses his s More...
Mar 19, 2009
This is the best book eva!!!!! It is so sweet! I cried my eyes out at the end though!
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(4 people liked it)
Jun 02, 2009
The Insane Psychopath Jane
rated it:
This book is...amazing. It makes you think of so many things. It makes you realize what truly is wrong with the world, and how messed up it was before.
Jan 05, 2012
I love this book so much! It's amazing! It gets very intense! The island is being followed by the German submarines. That are trying to target the oil refineries and tanks. A boy named Phillip is on that island with his mother and father. His father, who works at a refinery, who is closer with Phillip than he is with his mother, who is racist very protective over Phillip. Which may be why Phillip isn't close to her. Phillips mom wants to go back to Virginia with her son. The Dad refuses and so d
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Nov 17, 2011
Owen
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Nov 03, 2011
Jack
rated it: 
"Phillip is excited when the Germans invade the small island of Curaçao. War has always been a game to him, and he’s eager to glimpse it firsthand–until the freighter he and his mother are traveling to the United States on is torpedoed. When Phillip comes to, he is on a small raft in the middle of the sea. Besides Stew Cat, his only companion is an old West Indian, Timothy. Phillip remembers his mother’s warning about black people: 'They are different, and they live differently.' But More...
Nov 01, 2011
I thought that this book was a action and adventure excellence. While reading this book I realized skin color does not matter at all. The bond that Timothy and Phillip develop is a heart warming friendship. This story was about a ship wreck that brought two different types of people with two very different lives together. I would recommend this book to anybody. All ages would enjoy the crazy adventure Phillip over comes in life. He finds out that black people are nicer than he thought and are sm
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Jun 20, 2011
Alex
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Living on the Dutch island of Curacao, off the coast of Venezuela, 11 year old Phillip Enright thinks it is very exciting when the World War II finally arrives there in February 1942. Packs of German U-Boats start blowing up the island’s oil refineries and sinking ships carrying much needed oil to England. Then he and his friend Henrik witness a ship hit by a torpedo and watch as it burns and sinks with not survivors. Frightened but curious, Phillip tries to talk to his dad about the war, but hi
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Mar 29, 2011
Nicola
rated it:
Reason for Reading: This is another book from the Randomly Selected Bookshelf that I am reading from this year. I'm pretty sure I've read this before but it must have been as a kid, because I didn't really remember the story. My son loves shipwreck/survival stories so this one will definitely be going in the bedtime reading pile for his dad to read to him.
Phillip is twelve and lives in the West Indies, has ever since he was four, on the island of Curacao. World War II is in full swing, More...
Phillip is twelve and lives in the West Indies, has ever since he was four, on the island of Curacao. World War II is in full swing, More...
Feb 14, 2011
The Cay is a children’s novel written by Theodore Taylor. It was published in 1969 and the main theme is survival. Phillip is a twelve-year-old boy who lives on an island off of Venezuela. As the war worsens, his mother wants to escape back to America so they will be safer. However, the shipwrecks and he ends up on a raft in the middle of the ocean with an old black man named Timothy. Timothy and Phillip’s relationship starts off badly but when Phillip becomes completely blind from getting hit w
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Nov 02, 2010
Sean
rated it:
I read this book in middle school and I still think about it now into my 20's. The story really begins when Phillip, the protagonist of the story, flees his island homeland with his mother on a boat after the Germans attack. His boat is then hit by a torpedo and in haste of getting to a lifeboat, he is separated from his mother and is also, by chance, paired with a black man named Timothy. In the chaos of their escape, Phillip bumps his head which causes him blindness after a short time. They bo
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Jun 11, 2010
The Cay starts out with Phillip being in the middle of a war in the Indies, his mom wants to escape because of the war, but the father said that it would be too dangerous but his mother insisted. They ended up going back to Virginia, so they boarded the SS Hato, but on the way back the ship was under attack and that was when Phillip was separated from his mom. They were on rescue rafts and Phillip got separated from his mother and he was with Timothy, a black man, this was important because P
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Mar 28, 2010
Kelly
rated it:
I had read this book in 5th or 6th grade and remembered loving it. I read it again a month or so ago and just finished reading it with my 10 year old, who also really enjoyed it. This is the story of a young American boy, Phillip, living on the island of Curacao during WWII. As he and his mother flee the island to go back to the safety of America, their boat is torpedoed and he ends up on a raft with Timothy, a large black West Indian man and a cat named Stew Cat. Phillip is blinded and must
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Nov 18, 2009
Marina
rated it:
This book is really interesting. If I where the author I would never come out with this idea. I love this book since the beginning. This book is about a boy named Philip who is in the middle of a war and his father is in the battle. One day his mother and father where talking and came up with the idea to go to live for a few months to a safer place. When they get on the ship a torpedo falls in the boat and he gets lost and separate with his mom and he gets lost in the sea with Timothy, a b More...
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Oct 28, 2009
Just came across this book today! So glad to see this book is read and loved by others.
I read this book with my 5th grade classmates during Mrs. Spomer's reading lesson. I believe we had a class copy (maybe with purple cover art?), but I also remember hearing it in a "story time" format.
I don't remember much about it, but reading the synopsis, it brought a lot of memories. The main kid becomes blind during the novel, and he has to make a friend in Timothy. I al More...
I read this book with my 5th grade classmates during Mrs. Spomer's reading lesson. I believe we had a class copy (maybe with purple cover art?), but I also remember hearing it in a "story time" format.
I don't remember much about it, but reading the synopsis, it brought a lot of memories. The main kid becomes blind during the novel, and he has to make a friend in Timothy. I al More...
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(1 person liked it)
Aug 09, 2011
Cheryln
rated it:
This was a great book. It's about Phillip, a boy who is shipwrecked with a man, Timothy, and a cat, Stew Cat.
It's set during World War 2, on the island of Curacao, where they live, and then on an uncharted island.
In the first few chapters, I thought Phillip was annoying, but he matured over the course of the book. He had to learn how to survive on the island. He ends up blind and must rely on Timothy to help him.
The book is richly detailed, and since Philli More...
It's set during World War 2, on the island of Curacao, where they live, and then on an uncharted island.
In the first few chapters, I thought Phillip was annoying, but he matured over the course of the book. He had to learn how to survive on the island. He ends up blind and must rely on Timothy to help him.
The book is richly detailed, and since Philli More...
Nov 18, 2011
4Teddy7028
rated it:
The Cay is a book about a boy named Phillip Enright living in the time of a world war II . When German U-boats surround the island he lives on (Curacao) his mother is scard and wants to go back to the Netherlands and take her son with her.But her husband who has to work cant leave, so Phillips mother complains to Philphs dad and eventually went away on a ship. Then ship wrecks and Phillip and his mother get thrown off the boat and get seperated. A black man named Timothy rescues Philip. At first
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Jul 29, 2010
Celine
rated it:
The Cay is a story of a young boy named Phillip who, on his boat ride from the island Curaçao to Virginia, finds himself blinded by a torpedo (the story takes place during World War 2, in 1942)that hit his boat. Phillip escapes death along with an elderly black man named Timothy, and eventually their life raft lands on a deserted island. Despite Phillip's predjudice against blacks, together he and Timothy learn to survive depite Phillip's blindness and Timothy's age. Phillip finds a friend in
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Jan 27, 2010
Kara
rated it:
I read The Cay as part of the 10-10-10 Reading Challenge, in the category of Children's Books I'm Ashamed to Admit I've Never Read. I mean, even my brother, who avoided books at all costs as a child, read this book. And loved it! He even got my mom to read it! Whereas I, the brainiac who spent her afternoons at the library after school, and looked at the cover of this book many times as it looked down at me from the shelf........Never. Ever. Read it. Until now :)
The premise of the st More...
The premise of the st More...
Sep 30, 2011
~Chris D,
rated it:
The Cay:
An Outstanding Tale
Phillip an average ten-year-old boy lives on the island of Curacao is like any other ten-year-old boy. Phillip and his mom and dad moved from Virginia to Curacao for his father’s job. World War II had just started and the Germans brought their submarines to Curacao Phillip’s mother felt it wasn’t safe to live on Curacao anymore so she and Phillip took the S.S. Hato to Miami. On the third day being on the boat a German submarine shot a missile at the Hato a More...
An Outstanding Tale
Phillip an average ten-year-old boy lives on the island of Curacao is like any other ten-year-old boy. Phillip and his mom and dad moved from Virginia to Curacao for his father’s job. World War II had just started and the Germans brought their submarines to Curacao Phillip’s mother felt it wasn’t safe to live on Curacao anymore so she and Phillip took the S.S. Hato to Miami. On the third day being on the boat a German submarine shot a missile at the Hato a More...
Aug 01, 2011
Loved it!
Set in 1942, it's the story of Phillip, a boy whose father's work takes the family to Curacao, where he grows up. He loves it, his mom hates it. She decides to leave his father behind with his work and bring Phillip to the US - but they never make it. The freighter they're traveling on is torpedoed by a German U-boat. Phillip is knocked unconscious and wakes up on a life raft with Timothy, an aged Caribbean native. They float for a few days before hitting land, but not before the b More...
Set in 1942, it's the story of Phillip, a boy whose father's work takes the family to Curacao, where he grows up. He loves it, his mom hates it. She decides to leave his father behind with his work and bring Phillip to the US - but they never make it. The freighter they're traveling on is torpedoed by a German U-boat. Phillip is knocked unconscious and wakes up on a life raft with Timothy, an aged Caribbean native. They float for a few days before hitting land, but not before the b More...
Mar 11, 2011
Richa
rated it:
About the characters:
Phillip: Phillip is a really moody person the first thing he is being really mean, and the next thing he is being really nice to Timothy. I also think that Phillip is racist, but I don't think that it is all of his fault becuase that's what his mother told him about what she thought about 'black people'. Overall I think that Phillip is a nice person, if just his mother had not discriminated between black and white people. Phillip did change alot after meeting Timothy. More...
Phillip: Phillip is a really moody person the first thing he is being really mean, and the next thing he is being really nice to Timothy. I also think that Phillip is racist, but I don't think that it is all of his fault becuase that's what his mother told him about what she thought about 'black people'. Overall I think that Phillip is a nice person, if just his mother had not discriminated between black and white people. Phillip did change alot after meeting Timothy. More...
Sep 16, 2007
Tyler
rated it:
I liked this book because it was a combination of exitement, sadness and having to deal with life. This book had a very nice eending to it and it was a very enjoyable (but short) book. My favorite character must be Timothy because even though he was old he was very nice and caring for phillip. He was also very cautious on what phillip di through-out the book. I think the ending to the book is a very good ending becuase it sorta makes you cry.
Apr 13, 2010
Shannon
rated it:
This survival story is set during WWII and revolves around a young man named Phillip. After his mother decides to take him and leave the island they call home, because of all the dangerous explosions and fighting, Phillip's whole life changes. The boat that was to take him back home to the states is attacked, and Phillip finds himself aboard a life raft. His only companions are a black man and a cat. Phillip comes from racist parents, and this affects how he treats Timothy, his new companion
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Aug 21, 2011
Valeria F.
rated it:
War has always been a subject of interest to Phillip especialy when the germans are about to attack , Curacao a small island.Ofcourse Phillip is willing to watch every gory minute of it. Unfourtanetly his mom thinks he is better of in her home town , virginia. Phillip is resistant of his moms idea ,but still is forced to go. They traveled oh a freighter to get to the untited states but it was shipwrecked.Phillip wakes up on a raft in the middle of the sea with the hot, bluring sun in his face
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Jan 05, 2012
This book was very intresting it was all about a boy named phillip who was in his hometown when all of the sudden germans come to attack the land. phillip and his mom decided to go back to america where its safer. But when they are sailing their ship gots hit with a torpedo phillip gets on a small boat with his mom and a long block of wood lands on phillips head and breaks the boat. Phillip wakes up with no eye sight in a boat with a strange big black man named timothy who cannot talk well and
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Nov 01, 2009
Larissa
rated it:
The Cay
The Cay, which lies in the devil’s mouth located in Panama, is a deserted Island where Timothy and Phillip plan on living. Phillip Enright, his mother, Timothy and many other passengers aboard started out in Curacao riding in a sailboat by the name of S.S. Hato, the plan was for it to reach Miami, but the unfortunate occurred. Due to the S.S. Hato being torpedoed by the Germans and the ship fell apart, but luckily they had a raft to live o More...
The Cay, which lies in the devil’s mouth located in Panama, is a deserted Island where Timothy and Phillip plan on living. Phillip Enright, his mother, Timothy and many other passengers aboard started out in Curacao riding in a sailboat by the name of S.S. Hato, the plan was for it to reach Miami, but the unfortunate occurred. Due to the S.S. Hato being torpedoed by the Germans and the ship fell apart, but luckily they had a raft to live o More...
