A Daring Rescue

Dolphin Island #1

by Catherine Hapka

Welcome to Dolphin Island, where the tropical sun shines, the dolphins play, and friendship is always just down the beach!
Abby's family has just moved to the Florida Keys to run an island resort. She's excited to feel the surf, sand, and ocean breeze every day! And when Bella, a visitor to the island, discovers a hidden cove that's home to a pod of dolphins, Abby knows she's right where she should be.

But Bella makes Abby swear to keep the dolphins a secret. Can Abby keep her promise or will their friendship be over for good?

Genres: Animals

112 pages, Paperback

Published May 5, 2020

About the author

Catherine (Cathy) Hapka has written more than one hundred books for children and adults, as a ghostwriter for series as well as original titles, including the Romantic Comedies Something Borrowed, The Twelve Date of Christmas, and Love on Cue. She lives in Pennsylvania.

Reviews

[Nicole Lynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Initial Thoughts: This was a cute transitional chapter book that will appeal to animal lovers. It follows an 8-year-old girl that recently moved to an island that her parents inherited through her stepmom, Rebecca. The family turns the house/island into a resort. Abby meets a girl her age named Bella that came to the island as a guest. The story then chronicles their budding relationship, a slight mystery & an end of the book animal rescue. There are scenes/mentions of dolphins in the book too which will be attractive to any dolphin lovers out there! I can also see this one being popular during the summer time. I’m interested in seeing how the next books in this series plays out. Will there be new characters each time? What other rescues might Abby stumble into? Overall a quick read for me that will be another title/series to have in mind for future Reader’s Advisory.
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My only hang up was that Abby was 8 & already had a cell phone & knew how to email her BFF. Like what?! Haha I’m so old now cause I was writing letters to friends & didn’t have a cell phone until I was a freshman in High School (it was a small Samsung flip phone that I definitely miss lol).

[Dawn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eight-year-old Abby and her family have moved to an island and opened a tropical resort. Abby makes friends with one of the first guests, Bella, and the pair discover a cove where a pod of dolphins visit and play. Bella wants to keep the cove a secret and protect the dolphins, but Abby wants to share their secret and use the dolphins to promote her family’s business.

Didn’t really like this, as they make it seem like Bella’s being selfish, when she is trying to protect the dolphin’s natural habitat. It is literally capitalism versus environmentalism, and the book makes it seem like capitalism winning is awesome. Very anti-Lorax, and a weird promo in a kids’ book. Also Abby’s dad is Jamaican, and she is described as having wavy brown hair, but the front cover shows a slightly-tanned redhead. The pictures inside more closely resemble the descriptions of the character, so why doesn’t the cover?

[Chelsea Heath · Rating 2 out of 5]

My 2nd grader enjoyed this. It’s sweet and simple and included a lot of animals, which she loves. I found it to be unrealistic behavior for kids who were supposed to be 8 years old. They were more like 10 year olds. I also think it brought up examples of poor behavior by young kids - keeping secrets from their parents and swimming without adult supervision and flotation devices, to name a couple. Otherwise, just not a lot of substance. Decent premise but could have been much better. A good deal - she got two books and a dolphin necklace at her school’s book fair for $10.

[Mila Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book it was definitely one of my favorites and I love how it used sea creatures in it!!! I love how it also is good for almost all ages and it doesn’t use any harsh or challenging words so everyone can read it!!! This book is definitely in my top 3 and I love it sooooo much and I will never forget this book!!!!

[Yididia]

I think this book is the perfect book for an 8 year old 3rd grader like me. My name is Yarsema and my last name is Alemayehu.