Timothy of the Cay

Title: Timothy of the Cay

Author: Theodore Taylor

Summary: The stories of Timothy's childhood and Philip's life after he leaves the Cay are told in alternating chapters.  Timothy first goes to sea at age 14, becomes a captain of his own ship, and eventually serves on the ship where his life crosses with Philip's.  Philip undergoes a surgery to regain his vision.  When it works, he returns to his Cay to finally see everything that Timothy had described to him.

Stars: 6.  It was okay.  It could have been better.  Personally, I liked The Cay better than this book.

Violence: 4, Timothy was cuffed on the back of the head occasionally, and the fierce hurricane that killed Jennifer and her family was pretty violent.  However, nothing was too graphic.

Romance: 2-3.  Charlie told Timothy to settle down with a lady, but Timothy never really acted on it.

Language: 4 for d--n.

Appropriate for: 7-8, but only if you've read The Cay.

Other: The title of this book was extremely boring.  Even though it left out Philip's name, I thought that was particularly appropriate.  The Cay was told in the first person, from Philip's point of view, and his name was rarely ever mentioned.  However, there was nothing in the title that made me want to read the book, apart from The Cay being a good book.
I almost thought Timothy's story wasn't that essential, other than showing another angle of the discrimination against blacks.  I was more interested in Philip's story.  I almost wanted to just skip the Timothy chapters and read only the Philip chapters, but I resisted.