The Island of Thieves

Tom Trelawney #1

by Josh Lacey

Buried treasure. Ruthless gangsters. An ancient clue . . .

Our Captayne took the pinnace ashore and I went with hym and six men also, who were sworne by God to be secret in al they saw. Here we buried five chests filled with gold.

Tom Trelawney was looking for excitement. Now he's found it. With his eccentric uncle Harvey, he's travelling to South America on a quest for hidden gold. But Harvey has some dangerous enemies and they want the treasure too. Who will be the first to uncover the secrets of the mysterious island?

Genres: Adventure, Mystery, Young Adult, Fiction, Middle Grade, Audiobook, Juvenile

288 pages, Paperback

First published July 7, 2011

About the author

Josh Lacey is a British writer born and raised in London. Josh worked as a journalist, a teacher and a screenwriter before writing his first book, A Dog Called Grk. He has written several other children’s books including The Dragonsitter, Island of Thieves, and The Pet Potato. He also wrote the adult book God is Brazilian, a biography of Charles Miller. He also writes under the name Joshua Doder.

Reviews

[Barb Middleton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommending authors to students can feel like hopscotch at times. They might latch onto one author such as Gary Paulsen, consume the shelf of twenty-plus books, then eagerly bounce around waiting for another great recommendation, like a puppy wanting a treat. I can't resist puppies and I don't want to let them down. The problem for me is finding that action adventure novel that isn't too difficult as they work toward reading fluency. I can now file Josh Lacey's "Island of Thieves" to my action list. This nonstop page turner will satisfy the needs of students looking for a fun swashbuckling tale filled with danger, treasure-hunting, and thieves.

Tom Trelawney's parents are going on their first vacation without their three kids when troublemaker Tom burns down the shed causing the person he was supposed to stay with to cancel at the last minute. Tom's parents scramble to find someone who will take Tom and settle on his Uncle Harvey. Right after Tom's parents drop him off, Harvey says he's leaving for Peru on business and Tom can take care of himself all alone in Harvey's New York apartment. Tom doesn't like this "Home Alone" plan and convinces Harvey to take him with to Peru resulting in them both getting tangled with a notorious criminal and a plot to find a hidden treasure.

The plot is full of action, unbelievable (but fun) twists, and interesting characters. Harvey begins the story as an irresponsible adult who recognizes at the end that he shouldn't have endangered his nephew. Tom is easy-going and saves Harvey multiple times. He doesn't change much and there is not much of an emotional arc to his character. He becomes more self-sufficient and realizes he can't trust his uncle, but he likes him all the same. There is so much going on in the plot that most readers won't notice the lack of character development. I did think the author did a nice job creating distinct characters with unique traits that had uncle and nephew bantering. Harvey always asks Tom to not call him, "Uncle Harvey," tries to get him to drink coffee, and tells him to not worry. Tom is Mr. Agreeable even if he's facing a notorious criminal, cracking jokes about wanting to stay in their house-prison for a month vacation.

Some of the humor is directed at adults making it an enjoyable read for all ages such as when they are running for their lives and his middle-aged uncle waves Tom to stop because he is gasping for breath or when they are on the plane and the uncle has an inflatable pillow, earplugs, and a mask, or the description of the cramped bathroom where Tom sat on the toilet and said his knees jammed against the bath. After living overseas and aging, I've experienced all of those things. Except in Barcelona the bathroom was so small my knees hit the wall (there was no bath).

The ending was a bit abrupt and the parents didn't really react in a normal way. You'd think they'd ground Tom for life and attack Uncle Harvey; however, it was consistent with Tom always being honest and doing the right thing. Or maybe the "happily ever after" was too corny. Like I said, it just seemed too abrupt. Some history is given on Sir Frances Drake and his exploration of South America. The pacing doesn't slow down and the information isn't in great depth since Tom and Harvey are too busy trying to not get killed through most of the action. The humor tempers the violence and Tom's innocence makes it appropriate for younger readers. If you are looking for humor, tension, and suspense then I highly recommend this one.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

When a young boy named Tom accidentally blows up his family's shed, his family makes him go spend a week with his Uncle Harvey while they go vacation without him. It is only when Harvey takes him to South America that the ultimate adventure begins. Will Tom and his uncle survive? Read on and find out for yourself.

This was a pretty good YA action adventure read that gives me Indiana Jones, and other action adventure film vibes. If you like movies like these, then be sure to check this out at your local library and wherever books and ebooks are sold.

[Raina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is SO Much Fun.

I mean, really.

Kid convinces his uncle to take him along to South America on a quest to find an ancient stash of gold.
There's a little bit of history, there's gunplay with the mob, there's a burned down shed... What else could you want in a middle school adventure read? It pretty much screams Indiana Jones readalike.

I took this to the middle schools in my area in January 2013 and it was a super fun opener. It definitely fits in with Hacking Timbuktu, Jack Heath's The Lab, and Z. Rex (and many others) in my arsenal of red-covered middle school boy books with lots and lots of awesome action.

[Mark Baker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom Trelawney's parents have just dumped him with an uncle he hardly knows. But Uncle Harvey is planning a trip to Peru to follow a treasure map he's just uncovered. Tom talks his way into the trip, but they have hardly landed when they run afoul of the most notorious crook in the country. Can they stay one step ahead of him and find the treasure. Another young adult novel, and another fun, wild ride. I did feel the characters could use a bit more development, but the target audience will love it.

Read my full review at Carstairs Considers.

[Zhenhao Ren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the idea of writing a book about finding lost treasure because that seems like the plot of a lot of movies out there. The author made it seem like a James Bond movie with the crime organization in Peru, finding clues to approximate the area of the treasure, and eventually escaping the area alive but losing the treasure. While reading this book I keep thinking of some of the famous movies such as James Bond, Indiana Jones, and even National Treasure. I felt that the author got a lot of inspiration from those movies because sometimes the plot seems kind of cliche.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom the main character is kind of a punk he burned down his parents shed so he had to stay at his uncle Harvey's while they went on vacation then agin he is helpful for example he helped his uncle Harvey while he was at his place.the overall problem in this story is that uncle Harvey's bussness was that he worked on thieves island so there were people that would try to take him down but tom could help and I think that they will come out winners on their mission.

[Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tom was looking for something exiting to do. He found it with his uncle. When they decided to go to South America for a quest to find buried treasure of 5 chest that was filled with gold. When they get to South America Tom's uncle had dangerous enemies who wanted the treasure as well. Will tom be able to find the treasure first?

[Aine · Rating 4 out of 5]

We listened to the audio book on the way to the beach (and back again). It was GREAT!! Glad to see that Josh Lacey has more books. It is soooo much fun to find a new author that both kids and adults like.

[Hayden.S · Rating 4 out of 5]

A daring and action-packed adventure
Hayden S


I think one of the strong points of Island Of Thieves by Josh Lacey strong points is its action, although there may be a lot of it. The author balanced it out with some slower parts in between. And even though I think the author does best with action he also does well with the slower parts. I wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone who wants to read a story that they can really get attached to and that will stay with them for a while. Because I think what the author was trying to do for this book is make the book fun to read. Because with some readers a book can get boring quite quickly for them because it may be too slow and not keep them interested to see what's going to happen later on. But with Island of Thieves in the very beginning of the book it's already getting you thinking. For example maybe 50 pages in, quite a few decently big events happened around the start of the journey to the forbidden island.


Some things that I noticed is the characters didn't have too much depth to them, and between the beginning of the book and the end, the main character didn't seem to change at all. What I would’ve liked to see is if he encountered one scenario he would take it on differently than he would earlier on in the book. But at some points I feel that the author is trying too hard to keep people interested because if you read carefully, you can find some hints about what's eventually going to happen, but you could only really spot that hint if you've read the book. But I feel an author shouldn't have to do that just to make people read their book more. I'm guessing that he didn't do it intentionally though because if it was it would've been more noticeable I think.
Overall Island of Thieves is a fantastic book and would highly recommend it to someone who wants to ease off on the serious type of book and have some fun reading. I would rate it a 7/10 for good plot, ok characters and great action.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book The Island of Thieves, written by Josh Lacey, was an action packed thriller with many mysterious and funny events happening simultaneously. The main character, Tom, and his Uncle Harvey went on an adventure to Peru to find gold but instead found the biggest criminal in Peru, Otto, which whom Uncle Harvey had scammed the last time he went. Otto was chasing them but later joined them for the hunt to gold. They sailed to The Island of Thieves, which had been turned into a jail. They found the gold and loaded it onto the boat, but then a battle arose between Otto and Uncle Harvey. Right after the police came, arrested everyone involved, then sent Tom and Uncle Harvey back to America. They were sad they could not get the gold but then realized they could sell the journal which had taken them there originally.

This book is a modern time action thriller with an interesting story and some very unique characters. Scammers finding gold when criminals are chasing them is not normal novel plot. The book is written in a very easy style which readers can understand and can connect with in some way. For example, in the story, Uncle Harvey encourages Tom to try the favourite local dish, guinea pig. Tom is at first very reluctant but finally agrees, only to find that he enjoys it. Similarly imagine a situation where when you go somewhere exotic and say that you are not going to eat the food but later when you try a dish it tastes great. This book also is very fast paced, which some readers may really enjoy but other readers may not like it because it does not provide minor details which would serve only as description rather than advancing the plot.

[Ensiform · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tom Trelawney, about twelve, is left with his Uncle Harvey in New York while his parents go on vacation. What Tom's parents don't know is that Harvey plans on going to Peru in search of hidden gold and silver, based on a scrap of a sailor's 400-year-old journal. Tom browbeats Harvey into taking him along on this risky expedition, because after all, he really is too young to be left in New York for a week. Soon they are in South America, where it turns out Harvey owes some money to a very dangerous criminal, who decides he's going to come along on the treasure hunt, too.

This is a quick, fun read, which boys of Tom's age might enjoy. It's definitely action-packed and there's a bit of humor as well. It's a little disjointed, from an adult point of view — for example, much is made of Tom's accidental burning down of the garden shed and the lessons about boredom he should learn, but nothing ever comes of it. Then there's the ending, in which the reader is asked to wink along with Tom and Harvey as they keep their journey a secret, only to have them to decide to reveal it all anyway. Maybe the editor decreed that it would look bad to have underage characters keeping adventures with bachelor uncles a secret from the parents. Anyway, it's a fun junior adventure book, with a bit of historical fact thrown in.

[Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slight disclaimer, for this book, I listened to it as an audiobook, so I may have missed some things. I listened to it on 1.5x speed because I had to have it finished on a certain date. The book is called Island of Thieves and it is written by Josh Lacey. It was really interesting and written/told very well.

The story is about a boy named Tom, my guess is he is around 13 years of age. His parents have had a vacation planned for a while, but after an accident that involved matches, Tom, and the family's shed, the people who had said they would watch after him are not as excited and won't take him. After his Dad calls around, he finally found someone who will take him, Uncle Harvey. Tom has never met Harvey before, but even after the gun fights, treasure hunting, near-death experiences, and losing untold riches, he is glad he did.

This book was, as I said, very well written. I would definitely recommend it. The relationship between Harvey and Tom grows and you begin to really like both of them. The book also has a lot of comedic parts, which makes the story more interesting too. The book has an engaging plot and interesting characters. It is definitely worth the read.

Check out my other reviews at: dragons-lair-book-blog.blogspot.com

[Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tom's parents are about to take their first trip alone since his older sister was born. Originally, Tom was going to spend the week with his friend, but once Tom burned down the shed in the backyard, none of Tom's neighbors want him to stay with them. Desperately, Tom's father calls his brother, Harvey to watch Tom for the week, even though Tom barely knows him. After his parents leave, Harvey takes Tom with him on an unannounced trip to Peru where he uses clues from a previous trip to look for buried pirate treasure. What starts out as a simple trip, turns very dangerous, very quickly.

The biggest strength of Island of Thieves is the search for clues and the puzzles those clues create. Although Tom does grow as a person through the story, his uncle and the other characters remain fairly static and seem rather one dimensional. Overall this is fast paced story with lots of action and adventure that would be an excellent choice for reluctant middle grade readers.

[Hayden Sorli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Island Of Thieves is one of few books I've read twice and enjoyed it each time. The novel does a very good job at getting attached to the characters, but there wasn't much change throughout the book. Which i would've definitely liked to see, especially when u go through many events that goes outside of the characters comfort zone. Overall i rated this book a 3/5 stars, my reasoning that i didn't rate it any higher is because the flow or pace of the book could've been a little better, i felt like the story was a little rushed and there could've been a lot more plot in between. When i first finished the book i was almost disappointed that it was over just because i felt that there was so much more potential that it sadly didn't reach. But i would highly recommend this book if u enjoy reading the Action and Adventure genre.

[Nash]

Burns down a shed, steal bicycles and is full of mischief.Tom's life seems to be boring according to him.Tom is a kid who is looking for adventure.Until he meets Uncle Harvey.Uncle Harvey is a slick guy who makes trips out of the country and comes back with enemies.This book has action every turn of the pages.
The best part of this book is what the characters jobs are.They have different roles that make the book more interesting.For example, if Aurto was not in the book then Auto would have to do all his work by himself.Then, if Tom never met Uncle Harvey, there would not be a book about this.So, every character in this book has an important role that is crucial in this book.
Another part of the book that is great is the plot.The plot is an action pack plot full of turn of events.The plot comes in when Auto and Uncle Henry find the treasure.Then, it was full of action from there.Without the action part of the plot, this book would be boring and bland.
I would reccomend this book to people who like action-thrillers.Then that people who just like to read book in general.

[Brad Southwood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I felt like the book was good as it contained a thrilling adventure and I didn't want to stop reading. Although the ending was a bit confusing, I thought in general it was pretty good. The book starts with Tom convincing his uncle to let him come with him on his uncles trip to Peru. When they get there, they are taken by a mob boss Otto who threatens them because of fraud. They escape and find out about gold and silver hiding on the an island called The Island of Thieves. They got captured by Otto but agrees to let them live if they take him to where the treasure is located. Overall, I felt like the book was pretty good as it follows the plot line as they keep it in check without to many flashbacks. The ending gets a bit to rushed as they try to keep the speed of the book but does well in every other aspect within the book.

[Beth for BPL Teens · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel felt like a fast-paced YA version of Indiana Jones, and I had so much fun reading it! Tom is a troublemaker. After burning down his family's shed (on accident-he swears!), Tom's parents refuse to go on their long-awaited vacation unless Tom is taken care of by a family member. His Uncle Harvey finally agrees to take him in, but Tom's chill week in NYC quickly becomes a whirlwind week in Peru. He and his uncle are looking to find the ancient buried treasure of Sir Frances Drake, but what Tom doesn't realize is that Uncle Harvey has some dangerous enemies in Peru who would be very interested in this treasure if they found out about it.

This book is a non-stop action adventure thrill ride that would entertain even the most reluctant readers. Great for fans of Indiana Jones and the Uncharted video games.

[Michael Budorick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Island of Thieves was a very interesting book to read. The book was fun to read. I think it was fun because it was very exciting and you did not know what the main character Tom Trelawney's next move. Him and his uncle were trying to find the treasure on the island without getting caught or having Otto find it first. Tom and his uncle needed to avoid the police. They get caught towards the end of the book but end up escaping because of Tom. However Otto is now on the chase to find the treasure. Overall the book ended in a very exciting way, and it had me reading until the end.

[Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book, it had the perfect mix of whimsical adventure, dangerous encounters, family heart, and character structure. The plot too was weaved together rather well and used a good amount of history in the mix, liberties being taken where necessary.

Even most of the loose ends were tied up and leaves the reader satisfied for the most part with the out come. A great stand alone book, though it has a sequel which I will be reading next, and I am interested to see if they are connected or their own individual stories.

[Bdalton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun, action-packed adventure. A troublemaking boy and bad-boy uncle travel to Peru and solve a historic mystery. A little bit of geography and history is thrown into the plot line. Teachers and librarians may want to recommend this book to kids who liked the Magic Treehouse books when they were younger. A bit of violence and mafia style killers and sexy girlfriends are part of this James Bond like story.

[David Erkale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is quite an action packed book, with daring escapes and the like. Tom didn't realize it at first but his uncle is involved in some shady business. And now, they hunt around Peru, seeking for the Island of Thieves where Frandis Drake hid away valuable treasures. Not a good read for those who don't like violence and blood.

[Christine Erwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gave it 5 stars because for what it is -- an action story -- it was a great ride. I enjoyed the humor and thought that boys in middle years and even in Grades 5 and 6 would eat this up. The Lexile is at a level that would work with newish or reluctant readers too.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tom was looking for something exiting to do. He found it with his eccentric uncle when they decide to go to South America to find buried treasure.

This nonstop page turner will satisfy those looking for a fun swashbuckling tale filled with danger, treasure-hunting, and thieves.

[Chow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book with my six year old son. It was probably a little too mature for him and a little scary at times, but we enjoyed the adventure. He really likes ‘Treasure Island’ and so this was like a modern ‘Treasure Island’ version.

[Chase Sudderth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't read this book but heard it as an E-book and found it very good.I loved the crime that was there,and how in some parts very funny.I think if you are bored then people should give it a shot and they would find it a great book as well.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good little story about a kid and his nephew on a fantastic journey. Easy to read, exciting, a bit of history, and good enough to keep any young boy interested in a good summer reading.

[Mitro Pietro · Rating 3 out of 5]

well-paced story appropriate for about grade 3 level, suitable characters and content, though the ending felt like it came on very quickly.

[June Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

A real adventure story about a 16yr old boy and his uncle, interesting, exciting, and very funny in parts.

[Susan Reyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exciting!

[Myles Hodgson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely FULL of action and suprises!!!