Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo

I just finished the book Kensuke's Kingdom by Michael Morpurgo. This book made me feel like when I am in doubt I should believe that there's always a way for hope to work its mysterious way. One time when I was five I was looking at a teddy bear at the supermarket and when I turned back I couldn't see my family anywhere! So I started to cry and get nervous that I would never see my family again but then after 1 minute I found them. This was a close connection by Michael really kept his hopes up for way longer than I did but it's close enough. This helped me read the book by the experience I had about getting loss and the anxiousness of seeing my family again. This was a "Just Right Book" for me because I understood most of it and I could read this book in depth.

The 2 most important characters in this book I think would be Kensuke and Michael. I think Michael has been through a lot for a 12 year old boy if I say so myself. First he flipped over his family's boat the night before his 12 birthday and his mom was sick and his dad was exhausted so there was no one to save him and he had no time to scream for help because the water came in his mouth when it was open. He was stranded out in the middle of the ocean watching his boat get carried away by waves. Then he got stuck on a stranded island trying to search for food and water but not having luck finding anything so he's separated from his family, stranded on a island starving and suffering but still alive. At first when he got to the island when he was on the beach he finds a fire glass and he has a idea of making a fire to tell sailors out there that he is on the island. So he a builds a fire with big, dry leaves and twigs. So when he was back from getting extra leaves he sees an orangutan through sand on the fire and extinguishing it. Then Michael starts yelling at him for putting out his fire but the orangutan started yelling, "Dameda, dameda!" But it turns out it's a man/Kensuke who got stranded on the island for many, many years because he was fighting the World War and his aircraft carrier got bombed and he was the only survivor so he steered it to the nearest island and unloaded the things he needed to survive. Then he bonded with the animals especially to the orangutans. After years the animals started to trust him and pretended that he was one of them. So when Kensuke saw Michael on shore he didn't want him on his island. But after a long time they started to bond together and like each other. So they both changed with each other together but Kensuke had a sad side, when he was fighting the Americans bombed Nagasaki where his family lived so he was so heart broken that he didn't dare to go back. And Michael was longing to see his mom and dad. So Michael reminded Kensuke of his son and Kensuke was like an uncle to Michael so they were like family.

I think the ending was good when the Peggy Sue showed up and Michael's parents were back but the one thing I want to change is in the end Kensuke goes back with them, and take him to Nagasaki to see his family and they reunite together too. And just in case he brings one of the orangutans with him so he'll never forget the animals he spent a lot of time with. I think the message of the story is to not to give up hope no matter what because there is always someway of getting out of the situation.