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Island Sting

3.74 of 5 stars 3.74 · rating details · 34 ratings · 15 reviews

Kenzie didn't expect her first summer in the Florida Keys to be murder. Or cute guys, awesome boats, endangered species, and gun-toting thugs... When city girl Kenzie Ryan moves to a Florida wildlife refuge, she plunges straight into an eco-mystery. Kenzie trades New York streets for Keys pollution cleanup, and now, instead of hailing cabs, she's tracking down a poacher of...more

280 pages

Published January 6th 2010 by Leap Books

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Jun 16, 2010 Robert Kent rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: middle-grade-ninja-reviews

While in college, I picked up a copy of John Grisham’s The Pelican Brief at about 10:00 at night the week of finals. I was worn out from studying and I just needed a little break. Big mistake. I finished the book at about 4am and then spent the next day of finals sub existing on coffee and cursing Grisham’s name. He wrote an un-put-downable book. That’s all well and good for adult novels about lawyers and conspiracies, but can such an experience be recreated in a book for younger readers?

Esteeme...more

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Jan 23, 2010 Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: youngadult

When I read this book it reminded me a bit of Hoot by Carl Hiaasan in the way that Kenzie and her new friends are trying to stop something harmful going on in a natural environment. What's different is that it is centered around trying to find the one person that is set on poaching these endangered deer.

I admit I was a bit skeptical after reading the first two chapters - thinking I really wouldn't like this one. As the story progresses, however, I really started to enjoy what was going on. There...more

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Feb 01, 2010 Crystal rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: for-review, tour-around-the-world, read-january-2010

A very interesting mystery novel focusing on one girls' quest to help protect the wildlife on the small island that has become her new home.

Island Sting is a fun young adult read paired with a mystery that is solved by the teenagers involved. Kenzie has just moved down to Big Pine Key and on her first day there gets involved with a local boy and a mystery of who is harming the local deer population. Focusing on a real problem in a real area of the Florida Keys makes this book even more interesti...more

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Jan 05, 2011 Maria rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011, middle-grades

More like 3.5 stars.

The Short Of It:

Island Sting is a quick read that is part mystery and part eco-thriller that carries a good message.

The Long Of It:

Kenzie and her mom move from New York City to the Florida Keys after her parents’ divorce. The island of Big Pine has a close knit community, where everyone knows everyone else. It is also home to the National Key Deer Refuge. On their very first afternoon on Big Pine, Kenzie goes on a rescue mission when she tries to rescue what she thinks is a...more More like 3.5 stars.

The Short Of It:

Island Sting is a quick read that is part mystery and part eco-thriller that carries a good message.

The Long Of It:

Kenzie and her mom move from New York City to the Florida Keys after her parents’ divorce. The island of Big Pine has a close knit community, where everyone knows everyone else. It is also home to the National Key Deer Refuge. On their very first afternoon on Big Pine, Kenzie goes on a rescue mission when she tries to rescue what she thinks is a drowning dog. This rescue sets Kenzie off on a series of adventures in which she helps solve several mysteries and help coordinate an island clean up day.

Island Sting was one of those books that had been on my radar, but I had never gotten the chance to read it. When it came up for a blog tour, I was excited that my chance to read it had finally come. I was expecting something along the lines of Hoot or Scat for older teens. Instead, it was a story about a newcomer to the Florida Keys learning about Key Deer combined with a small mystery. I say small because the information surrounding the mystery was handed out piece by piece, so that halfway through you know which character’s hunch will end up being correct.

There was an interesting dynamic between Kenzie and her mother. It was obvious that there were in the Florida Keys for a fresh start, to make a new life for themselves. So it was odd that at first they both have negative feelings about their new home. Also, you would think that Ms. Ryan would want Kenzie to explore a bit and become familiar the island, but instead she scolds Kenzie for going out. Maybe I’m buying into the stereotype, but I hear New York City and I think “savvy, I can take care of myself teen.” Ms. Ryan isn’t the only adult that treats Kenzie like she has no clue about keeping herself safe and this made me question her age. There was mention of cars and driving amongst the Kenzie and the other teens, so I assumed that they were around 15 or 16. However, they aren’t always treated like they were in high school and didn’t always act that age. That plus the illustrations that were spread throughout that book, make we lean towards recommending Island Sting to tweens and middle grade readers as well as teen who like stories with an environmental theme.

Other than the age issue, I really like Kenzie. She is inquisitive, clever, caring and willing to work to accomplish her goals. A city girl, now living in a remote town, she learns as much as she can about the Key Deer and puts a lot of effort into helping her new friend, Angelo, solve a mystery that the local law enforcement has not been able to solve. The supporting characters definitely add depth and roundness to the story. In addition to Angelo and his father, Kenzie meets a group of teens, the priest of a local church, and the officers at the National Key Deer Refuge. It’s obvious that Ms. Doerr worked hard to make Big Pine very culturally diverse. I found this to be a nice touch.

The extras like that map of Big Pine and No Name Key and the information on Florida Key Deer were a great addition. It was nice to be able to refer to the map as Kenzie travels to different points of the island. And the author’s note and Additional Information page was perfect for readers who want to learn more about the Florida Keys Deer. Again, I would recommend Island Sting to readers who enjoy reading books about environmental issues, as well as readers who like a little mystery.(less)

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Dec 29, 2010 Lindsay Paige rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: reviewed

WARNINGS: Definintely something different.

Island Sting is a good book. Doerr writes in such a way that keeps you interested just enough to keep you reading. There was just something about Kenzie's character that I loved. She cared for animals from the start and was very implusive. She didn't think about anything first; she just jumped right into it.

All of the characters were very well developed and unique. You have a group of kids who want to do something to help their environment and they do i...more

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Jul 01, 2010 Sarah rated it 1 of 5 stars

Ugh. Nothing like a preachy environmental cheesy book for 8 year olds to tick this reviewer off in an airport! I mean, really, what kid would pick this up for fun? I can see it being assigned reading in an Environmental Science class in junior high, but, oh, it's not fun. What kid says "holy ship!"? Add in the childish illustrations and you have a book most students wouldn't check out. The deer pictures are childish and sappy. The bullet holes on the cover hint at adventure, but unless you consi...more

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Aug 10, 2010 Carol Baldwin rated it 4 of 5 stars

What better way to hook your readers than have your main character almost drown as she rescues an endangered Key deer and is fished out by a cute guy--all in the first 10 pages of your book? Those are the ingredients that author Bonnie Doerr uses to keep 5th-8th grade readers from putting down this illustrated eco-mystery.

Kenzie Ryan and her newly-divorced mother (Maggie) have just arrived in the Florida Keys. While Maggie is starting her job as a nurse, Kenzie is supposed to be unpacking boxes...more What better way to hook your readers than have your main character almost drown as she rescues an endangered Key deer and is fished out by a cute guy--all in the first 10 pages of your book? Those are the ingredients that author Bonnie Doerr uses to keep 5th-8th grade readers from putting down this illustrated eco-mystery.

Kenzie Ryan and her newly-divorced mother (Maggie) have just arrived in the Florida Keys. While Maggie is starting her job as a nurse, Kenzie is supposed to be unpacking boxes and setting up housekeeping in their grandmother’s cottage. Instead, she is quickly consumed by an obsession to discover the poacher who is killing the miniature Key deer who make the Big Pine Key their home. Kenzie’s anger towards the unknown poacher is joined with a desire to clean up the litter-strewn island. These two themes intertwine and constitute the backbone of this entertaining and informative book—and become the focal point for the Keys Teens Care group which Kenzie helps form.

Science and language arts teachers will be excited to find a contemporary mystery that can be used across the curriculum. Teachers and students will both be happy with the end notes which provide more history and information about the Key deer and their fragile island environment.

Bonnie Doerr lives in North Carolina but her intimate knowledge of the picturesque Florida Keys comes through on every page. When I wrote to her and complimented her on how well she described this extraordinarily unique setting she said: “I actually consider the setting to be a character in my work. Since I have an environmental theme, I need readers to care about the environment before they will care about any wrong or crime associated with it. I often say I hope readers feel like they're on vacation in the Florida Keys when they read my work. A free vacation with no bugs, no sun burn, and no crowds!”

In my book, Teaching the Story, I discuss how setting should answer the question, "What can happen here?" This example of a well-honed description, prompts the reader to ask that question:

“Cars poured out of the shopping center under an ever-threatening sky. Clouds darkened and billowed upward. Armies of great mushrooms, brewing thunderous time bombs.” (p. 192.)

Whether you read this as an adult or recommend it to your students, I have a challenge for you. How many ways can you find that Ms. Doerr uses the word “sting?” I found two. She told me of a third. Is there a fourth hidden in these pages? Read the book to find out! (Leap Books, 2010)
(less)

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Jan 29, 2011 Irisheyz77 rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2k10, blog-tour, ebook

***As originally posted on my blog Ticket to Anywhere***

Island Sting by Bonnie J Doerr was a book that I was really excited about when I first heard about it last year. Its setting, the Florida Keys, is a place where I want to spend more time in...I have visited once but that was just for a few hours during a trip to Florida a few years back. So not only is it a place that I want to know more of its an eco-based mystery....which means science and environmental facts. Island Sting is told from th...more ***As originally posted on my blog Ticket to Anywhere***

Island Sting by Bonnie J Doerr was a book that I was really excited about when I first heard about it last year. Its setting, the Florida Keys, is a place where I want to spend more time in...I have visited once but that was just for a few hours during a trip to Florida a few years back. So not only is it a place that I want to know more of its an eco-based mystery....which means science and environmental facts. Island Sting is told from the point of view of Kenzie - who just moved to the Keys with her mom from New York. Her first day there she falls into a canal and helps to save one of the Key Deer and somehow gets involved in a mystery of someone who is killing the deer for sport.

I think I expected more from Island Sting then I got. I expected a mystery something that I'd have to try and figure out but there was no real mystery. Everything was handed to reader so it was very unfulfilling. I don't know maybe I just read too many mysteries and so for me this one was no challenge. I also found the writing to be more middle grade in nature than young adult even though all the teens were 16 or so. Although if it wasn't for the occasional reference to driving a car or high school I'd swear they were more 12 than 16. There were several times I felt like I was being talked down to as things were being explained to Kenzie. For as new girl on the island, the city chick, there was much about island life that she was clueless about.

I also had some issues with the dialogue. It just came across as stilted and didn't always ring true for a teen voice. The description to dialogue transitions didn't always work for me either. There just seemed to be a bunch of words that were edited out so there were these random jumps in events. The character of Angelo also annoyed me. His mood swings were just out of control and I just didn't see anything about him to like. So it was hard to believe that Kenzie was so head over heels for him....especially in the short amount of time in which this book takes place.

For me, this book suffered from having too high expectations. I think if I'd expected less I would have enjoyed it more. Perhaps if it were billed more as middle grade that too would have helped me enjoy it more as then the juvenile language of the book would have had more of a place. I've been reading a lot of YA over the last few years and I know that a more complex writing style and story can really thrive. There will be at least two more books involving Kenzie Ryan and I think that I will check out the next one before completely abandoning her story. Kenzie has potential and perhaps Island Sting just suffered a bit from being a debut book and that with time the writing and the crafting of a mystery will grow and become more of what I like to see when reading a mystery. Until then this is a book that I can only recommend to the younger reader.

***As originally posted on my blog Ticket to Anywhere***(less)

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Jan 03, 2011 Inspired Kathy rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2011

Island Sting by Bonnie Doerr is an environmentally friendly middle grade read aimed at children ages 10-12. This is a book about making a difference. When Kenzie rescues a small deer a desire and passion is awoken within her. Kenzie and her friend Angelo gather their friend and do what they can to help protect the endangered Key deer. Cleaning up litter, encouraging tourist to stop feeding the deer and tracking down a poacher make a great adventure story for younger readers. This book was also e...more

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Apr 22, 2010 McKenzie rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: did-not-finish

I was so excited to read this as the main character had a variation of my name - Kenzie! - and was into being ecofriendly. The writing style quickly turned me off, however, as it was choppy and seemed to be directed to a younger audience. The plot, being about saving a deer population, would be good for animal lovers, but unfortunately didn't hold my attention. I believe that a younger audience would enjoy this. I'm disappointed that I went into this expecting a YA novel - but that's really my f...more

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Sep 29, 2010 Zoe rated it 4 of 5 stars

A great adventure book for younger teenagers, guessing age 9-12 who are interested in the environment, covers a good range of subjects, not a hard going book, it also relates to current issues.

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Nov 24, 2010 Sandra Stiles rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: middle-grades, realistic-fiction

Kenzie has only been in the Keys a few hours when she finds herself in a canal rescuing what turns out to be a deer. Her rescuer turns out to be the good looking Angelo. She learns that someone is killing the key deer, an endangered species that live in the Florida Keys. She and her new friends set out to clean up the environment and secretly try to find the poacher responsible for the butchered deer. This book reminded me of Carl Hiaasen's "Hoot" and "Flush". I was please to read the first chap...more

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Jan 18, 2011 Edward Sullivan rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: children-s-fiction

A mystery/thriller with storng enviornmentalist overtones. The enviornmental themes are earnest but a bit heavy-handed.

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Apr 05, 2010 Laurie Edwards rated it 5 of 5 stars

Wow! Full of action and drama. A great eco-mystery for younger teens.

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Jun 19, 2010 Dyan Lyons rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: young teens, anyone who cares about the earth

A fast, fun mystery good for younger readers.

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Apr 19, 2013 Sandra Mustienes rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: kids

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About Bonnie J. Doerr

Kidlit author. I observe. I read. I write. I dig. I pull. I plod. I need wide open spaces. Room to make my big mistakes. And if I can't be a good example, I'll just have to be a dire warning.

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