Book Review: The Secret Island by Enid Blyton

Four runaways, Mike, Peggy, Nora and Jack, find a secret hiding place—a deserted island on a lovely lake. They build a willow-tree house, make their beds of heather and bracken, and grow their own vegetables. And Jack even manages to bring his cow, Daisy, and some hens to the island for fresh milk and eggs every day! But one day invaders come to the secret island...

My Review:
Mike, Nora and Peggy are living with their aunt and uncle while their parents are on their own plane to Australia. But now that the plane and their parents have vanished, presumed dead, their nasty relatives are using them as slave labour on the farm instead of sending them to school and beating the grieving children when they don't get something right. Their only friend is Jack, who lives and works for his grandfather, who cares little about the boy. When Jack discovers that his grandfather is planning to move away and leave him behind, he comes up with a plan for the four children to run away to the deserted small island hidden out in the nearby lake. The children start to steal items that they can use on the island and store them in Jack's hidden rowing boat, ready for when they decide to leave.

The children arrive on the secret island and are thrilled about being on such an adventure. They have springs for fresh water, caves to shelter in for winter and an abundance of fresh berries to pick most of the year. Jack decides to smuggle his dairy cow and some chickens so they can have milk and eggs, and with plenty of fish in the lake and the tins they brought, things get off to a good start. Jack uses his skills to help them build a summer house and soft heather beds to sleep in and they learn about what it takes to look after their island home.

Danger comes in several forms for the children. The first is the constant fear of the authorities searching for them for running away from home and returning them to their relatives. The second is daytrippers coming to spoil the peace and quiet who might find them by accident and spoil everything. With winter approaching, the children know that they need food that can be stored longer term which means risky raids at their relatives home or trying to sell their wild berries at the market in a nearby town and hoping that nobody there knows who they are. If they don't take the risks, they will run out of food but if they get caught, things will be a whole lot worse for all of them.

I first read this book back when I was about eight and at the time I loved the whole idea of that kind of exciting adventure, running away with friends and living on a nice island. I still have dreams about having my own island getaway though I'd trade in heather beds for a fully constructed house! I was unsure how well this kind of book would age but I still found it quite an enjoyable adventure story, and quite suitable for kids to read. It was a touch predictable in places, especially the ending but it didn't take away from the story at all.

The kids themselves are not whiny little brats which makes a pleasant change. Nora is mildly annoying in the beginning in the way she doesn't take her duties seriously but Jack soon sorts out her attitude and she becomes much better. Jack is my favourite character because he knows about surviving, fishing and building things and he is the ideal friend to run away with. Without him, the kids would have found life a lot harder, and of course would never have found the island. I also enjoyed that Daisy and the chickens were given a bit of personality too. 

Warning-this book was written in 1938 so there is level of sexism in the way the boys do the rowing and Peggy cooks but it isn't that bad as all the kids have to do their share. Rabbits are also killed for food but the killing and preparing them for cooking is not mentioned in any detail thankfully.

Read July 2020
3 stars.