Book Review: ‘The Innocents: A Novel’ By Michael Crummey

Best-selling author Michael Crummey is back with a page-turning novel about two young kids left on an island to fend for themselves over a period of many years.

A brother Evered and sister Ada are left alone on an island off the coast of Newfoundland at a young age. Their baby sister, mother and father have died. They now only have each other to survive. They immediately start getting things ready for the harsh winter and prepare for the boat that comes every spring with supplies. They must work together to survive the island, the elements including rainstorms and very cold winters, bears in the woods and short supplies of food.

The story follows them over a number of years. They must really on each other to survive. They are given a chance to leave the island but decline to do that. As they age they start to figure out things about themselves and at times drift away from each other. But the only thing they can rely on is each other and they have to learn to adapt and survive.

It’s a gripping, well-written story about survival and two young children that defy the odds to survive on their own.

You can pick up The Innocents in stores on Tuesday, November 12th from Doubleday.