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The Cay (The Cay #1)

3.66 of 5 stars 3.66 · rating details · 13,322 ratings · 1,317 reviews

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....more

Paperback, 144 pages

Published April 8th 2003 by Laurel Leaf (first published 1969)

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Sep 26, 2007 Helen Pontak rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Adventure loving people

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...more 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 thrown off the boat. A black man named Timothy rescues Philip. At first Phillip doesn’t like Timothy because of what his mother always says about black people, but as they are stranded together for a while he grows onto him and learns about him, and at last starts to like him.

The main character is Phillip who doesn’t want to leave his home, his school, and his father, just because of the fact that his mother is scared something bad might happen to them. He is eleven years old and has brown hair and brown eyes. Phillip at first is excited about the fact that there is a war going on because he has always heard of them but never seen one. He doesn’t know what consequences lay ahead and doesn’t know why his mother wants them to move somewhere until the war is over. He is stubborn at first, but through the book he changes and becomes more responsible and obeys commands he is given.

This book tells us that, people grow up and when the time comes, they understand what may happen, and that’s what changes them. It’s a story of friendship, and trust and faithfulness. Timothy didn’t have to save Phillip, he could have saved himself and left Phillip to die, but he didn’t and that’s what counts the most. Another example is when Phillip became blind. Timothy was Phillips eyes, and again, he didn’t have to be if he didn’t want to be, but he cared for Phillip and helped him through his times of need. I think this novel is interesting because Philip seems like a real boy with real situations, but I didn’t think that it was really realistic when, with all the bad things happening at once, Phillip turns blind. I know that can happen when you stair at the sun, but you would think that that would just be the worst of luck. I think that this would be a worst care scenario and I think that it’s almost exaggerating the story a little too much.

I like the book a lot because even though the plot wasn’t so realistic, sometimes people want something like that, once in a while. It just happened to be that time when I was craving for imagination, and that’s what I got from the book. I can be stubborn sometimes and not want to do something that I don’t have to do or do something that I’m not supposed to do. But I change with the help of the people that care for me .I would definitely recommend this book to people who like adventure and creativity.
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Apr 08, 2009 Abbey Cupcake rated it 4 of 5 stars

It was good but in some parts it was sad

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Feb 28, 2011 Ian Mclean rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. The Cay
By Theodore Taylor

Characters
there are some characters in The Cay. Some are in the story more and some are featured in the story less. There are two main characters. The first ones name is Phillip he is 12 and he was always taught to look down on black people. He and his family live on the small island called Curacao off the coast of Venezuela, the year is 1942. Another main characters name is Timothy. He is Black male who saves Phillip from near death and is stranded on a island with...more The Cay
By Theodore Taylor

Characters
there are some characters in The Cay. Some are in the story more and some are featured in the story less. There are two main characters. The first ones name is Phillip he is 12 and he was always taught to look down on black people. He and his family live on the small island called Curacao off the coast of Venezuela, the year is 1942. Another main characters name is Timothy. He is Black male who saves Phillip from near death and is stranded on a island with Phillip witch is kind of ironical if you ask me. There are also Phillips parents witch are the normal caring and loving parents. They are also concerned about his safety a lot, but what parents aren't.
Plot
The plot in The Cay is a very interesting one. It goes like this, A boy named Phillip and his family live on the island Curacao. The island is very small and in interest of German soldiers, World War 2 was in midway at the time. Phillip was always taught to look down on black people because most of them worked in the ship yard. Phillip and his family have tolerated the Germans on their island causing trouble, and cant take anymore. They find a way to get off the island and live back in America and wait for the war to settle down. Suddenly a torpedo smashes threw the hull of the boat their on. Everything is in dismay when Phillip is awake in the water on a raft with a old black man named timothy and they also have the main boats cat named Stew, And to make matters worse Phillip obtained a condition with his eye where he is blind They find a small island a have to adapt to the cruel weather conditions and Phillip also has to adapt to the fact that he is stranded with a black man. My favorite part is when Phillip looses his vision from staring at the sun to much and having a severe injure to his head.

Conflict
The conflict in this story of survival and friendship is a pretty classic one. A boy sets out to leave his home island because of its war ridden status. But his escape from the island did not go so well when a torpedo hits the boat they are on, the SS Hato. Then Phillip wakes up on a life raft with a very old black man and he soon gets a vision condition where he looses it for awhile. So they find a small island where they will struggle for food, fight against the weather conditions and struggle to survive and wait for their rescue, if they get one. Timothy also is slowly dieing from malaria, Getting weaker and weaker.

Resolution
The resolution is quick and easy. After surviving day after day of searching the island for their food and surviving terrible weather conditions like the heat, cold and even a huge tropical storm. Day after day of lighting signal fires and slowly waiting for a rescue from anybody out there looking for Phillip and timothy. American soldiers flew over and noticed Phillips signal fire. Sadly timothy died from Malaria and from saving Phillips life in the severe tropical storm that hit them.

Setting
The Setting in the book is very tropical and green. Lush environments soak your mind every chapter. You can smell the salt in the air and feel the mist on your face. The author really made the reader aware as you read The Cay. Sometimes it is gloomy and dark because of a storm but the next day its green and beautiful again.

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May 18, 2008 Jen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Recommended to Jen by: D'Ette Marceaux

Shelves: fiction, children-s-books

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 sight and is forced to learn...more

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Mar 19, 2009 Mary Grace added it

This is the best book eva!!!!! It is so sweet! I cried my eyes out at the end though!

6 likes · like · see review

Jun 02, 2009 The Insane Psychopath Jane Volturi rated it 5 of 5 stars

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.

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May 08, 2013 Daniel Prince rated it 4 of 5 stars

It starts with Philip, a twelve year old American child living on Curacao, an Island off of Venezuela. Philip is stuck in the middle of a war. His mother tries to take him back to America where Philip will be safe. Instead, his means of escape, a boat, is torpedoed. Philip suffers a hit to the head and is knocked unconscious. When he awakes, he is on a raft in the middle of the ocean. But he is not alone. He is adrift at sea with a black man named Timothy and Philip does not like his companion....more

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Apr 02, 2013 Gale rated it 3 of 5 stars

"He had to be Blind to see the Truth"

Young Philip Enright has been raised on the Island of Curacao in the early 40's, the son of an engineer for Royal Dutch Shell. But his laidback, tropical lifestyle is suddenly shattered when German subs blockade the port, then torpedo his escape boat. The ruthless forces of Word War II catapult the boy into a world of danger and darkness, as he regains consciousness upon a raft--his sole companions being a huge Black man and the ship's cat.

Terrified and ham...more

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Feb 28, 2013 Neil Chambers rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was my second time reading this book, as I did not fully understand it when I first read it years ago. The Cay is about a boy, Phillip Enright, who faces the effects of war in his home country of Curacao. Phillip, despite being very close to the fighting, is not terribly afraid of the war, unlike his mother, who has a strained relationship with Phillip. Phillip's mother, sensing the nearing danger, decides to take Phillip with her on a trip to the United States to escape World War II. The s...more

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Jan 31, 2013 Brendan Rodriguez rated it 5 of 5 stars

The Cay is Theodore Taylor’s epic tale of eleven-year-old boy Phillip Enright’s haphazard adventure on a small, uncivilized cay on the Caribbean Sea. The story takes place during 1942, a dangerous wartime; World War II is in full swing, and trepidation is at an all-time high. Phillip’s father has moved himself and his family to the Caribbean island of Curacao from the American state of Virginia to work at an oil refinery there. The area is soon infested with German submarine-presence, causing gr...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Bob Berkshire rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Cay is a strong book, especially for its reading level.

The book consists of two very different people. There is Phillip, a young boy who is trying to leave Curacao with his mother when the Germans attack, being eager to see War first hand since he just considers it a game. The other is an old West Indian by the name of Timothy, who isn't very well educated, and is first looked down upon since he is black. When the freighter that Phillip and his mom gets attacked, Phillip wakes up on a raft,...more

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Dec 07, 2012 William Rocha rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Cay starts off when the main character,Philip,is fleeing his home island to Netherlands because German warships surrounded the island. Him and His mother flee but his dad must stay due to his work. The ship they are fleeing on is torpedoed and everyone parishes except Phillip, the ship cat, and a foreign Chef named Timothy. First Philip is distant of Timothy but his head injury makes him more progressively blind everyday until he goes completely blind a few days after the crash, and he becom...more

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Nov 30, 2012 Kathy added it · review of another edition

Shelves: king-s-korner

The Cay
Reviewed by Ella Mylod

There is a boy named Philip. It is 1942 and world war II is just starting. Philip and his parents live on an island called Curacao. Philip and his dad have a close relationship but his mom racist. Philip has a friend named Henrik, his classmate. There are German submarines surrounding the island which causes the islanders trouble. Philip’s mom wants to go back to Virginia, where they are originally from. His mom decides to take Philip with her. They boarded a ship ca...more The Cay
Reviewed by Ella Mylod

There is a boy named Philip. It is 1942 and world war II is just starting. Philip and his parents live on an island called Curacao. Philip and his dad have a close relationship but his mom racist. Philip has a friend named Henrik, his classmate. There are German submarines surrounding the island which causes the islanders trouble. Philip’s mom wants to go back to Virginia, where they are originally from. His mom decides to take Philip with her. They boarded a ship called the S.S. Hato. On their way to Virginia the ship gets torpedoed by the Germans. Phillip gets knocked out while evacuating. But when he wakes up, he isn’t on a lifeboat with his mom, he is on a raft with a black man named Timothy and a cat called Stew Cat. Since Timothy is black and Phillip is white, Timothy starts calling Phillip Young Boss. Timothy then builds a shelter. At first the two don’t get along. And to make worse, Philip loses all eye sight. As they sail the sea they reach a cay. Timothy builds a shelter and catches lobster for food. Timothy eventually finds out that they are in an area called devils mouth. This area is a place that can’t be accessed by a ship so the only way they could be rescued is by a plane spotting them from the sky. Tensions grow between Timothy and Philip. Timothy forces Philip to do chores, which is something Philip does not want to do. Philip calls Timothy ugly and stupid. Then he gets slapped by Timothy which knocked some sense into Philip. He realizes that Timothy is just trying to help them survive while stranded on an island. They decide to be friends and Philip no longer wants Timothy to call him Young Boss. After the fight The two of them build a friendship and Philip learns how to fish and eventually climb a palm tree. Timothy starts getting sick with a fever and Phillip must care for Timothy. Then a hurricane hits the island and the shelter Timothy made blows away. Timothy Protects Philip from the storm. They link their arms around a palm tree and tie it with a rope. Timothy’s Fever gets worse after the storm and he dies holding on to Philip. Philip burries him. Despite Philips blindness, he is able to navigate his way around the island. Philip makes black smoke with sea grapes and finally gets a plane’s attention! Philip and Stew Cat are rescued. Philip gets his eye sight back and he reunites with his family hoping to return to the cay some day! (less)

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Nov 11, 2012 Karen Peters rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children-s-literature

The Cay by Theodore Taylor is a work of historical fiction intended for the Intermediate(I)/Advanced(A) age reading group. The Cay received the Jane Addams Children's Book Award in 1970, but following criticism, in 1976 the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom asked the author to return the award. This novel was dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Cay is a story of survival, friendship, and sacrifice. Phillip Enright is an eleven year old boy who lives on the island of Curacao...more

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Oct 08, 2012 Annie McMahon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Positive Points
This book has an interesting, unique plot. A boy becomes blind after getting stranded on an island with an old man called Timothy and a cat. Their friendship grows based on their need to survive in the wild.

I really loved the old man's personality. Instead of pitying the blind boy, he challenged him to overcome his situation and take charge of himself. Both characters were believable and unique in many ways.

Negative Points
The beginning didn't really hook me. I was about to put the...more

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Aug 14, 2012 Jessica rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: children-s-books, action-adventure, realistic-fiction

I would highly recommend this book for older children because of the intense themes it covers. This book teaches the importance of not judging people by what they look like, how old they are, or where they come from through the unlikely friendship Phillip forms with Timothy. It also makes a statement about racial equality and how it really does not matter what color skin a person has. Most importantly, this book teaches the importance of friendship and how it can get you through any situation, n...more

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Jul 04, 2012 K. rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: shipwreck theme lovers, anyone

Shelves: boy-s-bookshelf, girls-bookshelf, kids-young, kids-tween-age

Contender 12/13 read aloud.

Heard raves about this book from diverse people. I really liked it, but not as much as I thought I would. That's not to say it's not worth reading, or sharing with your kids, because it is. I was just a little let down after hearing hype.

One thing I can really appreciate is the way the author made the characters real, 3D, not just one sided "good" or "bad" or even in the middle. They worked & acted like real people. Philip was a lame whiner at times. Timothy was...more

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May 08, 2012 Sophie Schiller rated it 5 of 5 stars

I'll never forget the day (1975) my fourth grade class in St. Thomas discovered this book on our library shelves. One look at the cover and we all fought over it tooth and nail. Over the next several weeks, this was the most checked-out book in the school library. And for good reason. The protagonist, Phillip, was easily-relatable, and Timothy, the aged deckhand from Charlotte Amalie who saves his life, could have been any one of a number of old men we saw sitting around Emancipation Park, or ov...more

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Apr 20, 2012 Jacob rated it 2 of 5 stars

This book, while short, encompasses a variety of morals. Perhaps because of this, I felt like I wasn't reading a fictional book so much as taking a lesson in ethics. While the morals were important ones to learn (don't judge a book by it's cover being an important one), I feel the book would have been a lot more entertaining if they weren't crammed in as well.

Another complaint I have about this book is that the main character is extremely whiny and hard to relate to for over half the book. Whil...more

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Mar 31, 2012 Narek Mughnetsyan rated it 5 of 5 stars

I chose the book The Cay because I had already read it in sixth grade and always had wanted to read it again and now I truly realized that it was a great book and I loved it. The book is about Philip and Timothy, a young white boy and a seventy year old black man during WWII. During the story Phillip is blinded and has to live like that throughout most of the book and he and Timothy are stuck on an inhabited island and they have to cope with each other with racism and blindness. My favorite quot...more

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Mar 29, 2012 Tyler rated it 4 of 5 stars

When the book was based there was a war happening in the waters of the Caribbean islands on one island called curaco had a war happening around it it was a very racist island to. Phillip is living a normal life through the war, when one night his parents were talking about how Phillip and his mum should leave the island. While Phillip was on this trip he got hit by an enemy submarine and had to evacuate they both got separated, and Philip got knocked out. When Philip woke up he found himself wit...more

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Mar 28, 2012 James Gabriel rated it 4 of 5 stars

an amazing and emotional book with drama, pain and sadness. its about a boy who was growing up in a time of war but thinking that it wasn't going to effect their small island in the Carribian but a nazi submarine starts to bomb the boats in the small town scared his mother and him self tries to flee but their boat gets bombed and he gets hit in the back of the head when they try to escape from the sinking ship he wakes up to find a black man sitting next to him on a small raft they float for day...more

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Mar 15, 2012 Cole Ordiway rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Cay
By Theodore Taylor

The Cay by Theodore Taylor takes place in 1942 on an abandon island in the middle of the Caribbean with the two main characters, Phillip and Timothy, stranded on the island after a fatal shipwreck. Phillip is only 12 years old and he wakes up after being unconscious to find that he was stranded on the deserted island with a 70 year old man named Timothy and his cat, Stew. Phillip ends up waking up the next day to find that he was hit on the head during shipwreck and cau...more The Cay
By Theodore Taylor

The Cay by Theodore Taylor takes place in 1942 on an abandon island in the middle of the Caribbean with the two main characters, Phillip and Timothy, stranded on the island after a fatal shipwreck. Phillip is only 12 years old and he wakes up after being unconscious to find that he was stranded on the deserted island with a 70 year old man named Timothy and his cat, Stew. Phillip ends up waking up the next day to find that he was hit on the head during shipwreck and caused him to go blind, so now he barely knew where he was and couldn’t even see where he was and what was around him, which would make it even harder to survive. One of the tragic events that really changed Phillip and Timothy’s chances of survival was a deadly hurricane that swept through the island. There’s still many other events that changed their chances of survival.
The two main characters , Phillip and Timothy, are two very different people. Timothy is different from Phillip because he’s really old in his 70’s and he can see when Phillip is only 12 and is blind when he is trying to survive on the island. Timothy is a guy that practically lived in nature and new how to survive in nature like making a shelter and collecting food. Then there is Phillip who has no idea how to survive until Timothy taught him how to do everything and his blindness made everything he needed to do to survive even harder than it already was for him. It took Timothy months of being stranded on the island with Phillip to teach him everything he needed to know how to do to survive and in the end, everything that Timothy taught Phillip paid off.
I didn’t like the authors style of writing because Timothy talked with an accent and the author wrote it like it sounded whenever Timothy talked in the book. The way the author wrote the book made it really confusing and hard to read and really hard to figure out what he was trying to say most of the time Timothy talked, but towards the end I got use to the authors style of writing and it wasn’t as confusing as it was in the beginning of the book. Overall I liked the book and I think that other people who like adventurous books should read it(less)

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Jan 05, 2012 07rosalynr added it

Shelves: book-reports

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...more 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 does Phillip. But it's already too late. Phillip's mother already buys him a ticket to a boat called Hato. Which, of course, get torpedoed by the Germans. During evacuation, Phillip is knocked out of the boat and wakes up on a raft with a Indian man and a cat. The mans name is Timothy and the cats name is Stew Cat. Timothy builds a shelter on the raft for protection. Timothy and Phillip's relationship didn't start off at the right track. Phillip didn't seem to like him. Then Phillip discovered he was hurt pretty back from the torpedo. He became completely blind. They visit a Cay. Tension builds between these two and they get frustrated. Timothy doesn't know how to spell and Phillip doesn't want to do the work he tells him to do. Phillip calls Timothy ugly and Timothy slaps him upside the head. Then Phillip realizes he is just trying to help them survive. Then, they become friends. They become closer and talk about their backgrounds. Then Phillip becomes more independent for being so blind. He has to help Timothy after getting sick. A tsunami comes and they hold on to a tree. Timothy holds on to Phillip for his life. Then Phillip wakes up, and Timothy is dead. He tried to navigate his way out. While doing that, he gets hurt. An eel bites him. After that a plane comes. He tried his best and the first time he couldn't get this plane down. Then he learns how to make black smokes and tracks it down and it saves him. Phillip still has Stew Cat and is reunited with his family. His sight miraculously comes back to him. He doesn't hang out with kids like him anymore. He hangs out with Indian people that remind him of Timothy. He wants to go back to the Cay someday again.(less)

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Nov 17, 2011 Owen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-reviews

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Owen MacDonald
Reading ely

The Cay

4 stars
The Cay starts with a boy named philip Enright living on the island of Curacao. At the beginning of world war two he and his mother make his way towards Miami because his mother feels it isn’t safe. On the way, their ship is torpedoed by german submarines. Phillip takes a blow to the head and is blinded. He, an old black man, and stew cat are stranded on a small raft adrift in the ocean. Eventually, they find a cay and Timothy (the black man) swims them to...more Owen MacDonald
Reading ely

The Cay

4 stars
The Cay starts with a boy named philip Enright living on the island of Curacao. At the beginning of world war two he and his mother make his way towards Miami because his mother feels it isn’t safe. On the way, their ship is torpedoed by german submarines. Phillip takes a blow to the head and is blinded. He, an old black man, and stew cat are stranded on a small raft adrift in the ocean. Eventually, they find a cay and Timothy (the black man) swims them to shore. At first Phillip is a little hostile towards Timothy. This is partly due to his racism and partly due to the strict rationing of water. Timothy is highly resourceful. He makes shelter, creates funnels to store rain, and catches a kind of lobster called langosta. After some tension, Phillip notices that the hard labor and strict rules that Timothy enforces are for their survival.
As they live for progressingly longer on the island, the two of them get closer and closer. Timothy makes a rope, so if Phillip ever needs to start the signal fire he can. Timothy encourages Phillip to be more independent. Due to his age, timothy isn’t sure how much longer he will be able to care for Phillip, especially if they are going to be living on the cay permanently. Phillip learns to catch langosta and fish.
Soon after this, a tempest sweeps over the cay. Timothy desperately ties phillip to a tree at the highest part of the kay. In his effort he dies soon after the end of the storm. Soon after Timothy's death Phillip begins explooring the island alone and it’s rather eventful. He wanders into a bird nesting ground and is attacked. Then a moray eel bites his hand. A plane flies overhead once, but Phillip is unable to get the pilot's attention with the signal fire. Quickly, Phillip discovers how to make black smoke using oily bundles of sea grapes. In no time he successfully flags down the plane.
An operation in new york restores his sight, and when the family returns to Curacau, he becomes friend with some of the people from west india, like timothy. He dreams of going back to the cay some day.

I liked how this book had a clear anti-racist message, without making it really about racism. It was an easy read, but It still had good detail and an interesting plot. Overall, I like a good survival story. They don’t have to be filled with non-stop action.(less)

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Nov 03, 2011 Jack rated it 3 of 5 stars

"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 by the time...more

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Nov 01, 2011 Patrick added it

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...more

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Jun 20, 2011 Alex Baugh rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: world-war-2

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...more

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Mar 29, 2011 Nicola rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: own

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, the year...more 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, the year is 1940 and the West Indies have refineries which are supplying gas, kerosene, etc. But the German U-Boats have finally come to strike this important part of the Allied War Effort. Phillip's mother has always hated it here and wanted to go back to Virginia; she also is very prejudiced against the black people and tells Phillip her racist thoughts frequently, though he has never seen her point. He enjoys going down to the docks and watching the West Islanders work and talking to them. After the bombing she insists that it is time she take Philip back home but their ship is torpedoed and Philip ends up on a raft with a "Negro", Timothy. Philip has been injured on the back of the head by something very hard and goes in and out of consciousness, though he soon gets better except for the sore head. Part of the story tells of their survival on the raft, they have water and food which Timothy rations strictly. Their relationship is strained. Timothy doesn't talk much, works to keep them alive and is often blunt and to the point, though never rude. Philip takes this the wrong way, starts to think maybe his mother is right and blacks are different, which makes Philip take a haughty tone with Philip.

The second part of the story deals with their survival on the uninhabited little island they drift upon. It has no fresh water and they depend on the rain, but food is plentiful. Philips eyesight starts to go grey until he is eventually goes blind but before this happens he and Timothy have an argument where Philip calls him racial names. Their strained relationship is at an apex. Philip's blindness creates an entire new meaning to the word survival and with the whole world dark he reexamines what black and white mean.

This is a fantastic story of survival, friendship, race relations, love and truth. The book has a few exciting moments when extreme events happen but mostly it is a more realistic, quiet, day in, day out, survival story where the relationship between Timothy and Phillip is as much what the story is about as how they manage to survive so long on that island. A good book. One that boys will especially enjoy. Also recommended for older reluctant readers because of its mature storyline and short number of pages. (less)

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Feb 14, 2011 Marie Anderson added it

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...more

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