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The Altruism Trial
An adventure chapter book follows a self-centered, entitled boy as he crash-lands on an island and slowly learns the importance of selflessness and altruism.
Riley Pickering knows he'll be the next Sidney Crosby so it is expected everyone should cater to him, take care of his needs, and worship the ground he walks on. In addition, he has no patience for school, Science, Mme. Capretta, the French language or following rules. However, when a Science Project goes horribly wrong, Riley finds himself in the middle of the Pacific, stranded on an island scrambling to find ways to survive. When he meets two teenagers who are in a similar predicament, he begins to question whether he accidentally landed on the island, or whether he was intentionally sent there.
Riley Pickering knows he'll be the next Sidney Crosby so it is expected everyone should cater to him, take care of his needs, and worship the ground he walks on. In addition, he has no patience for school, Science, Mme. Capretta, the French language or following rules. However, when a Science Project goes horribly wrong, Riley finds himself in the middle of the Pacific, stranded on an island scrambling to find ways to survive. When he meets two teenagers who are in a similar predicament, he begins to question whether he accidentally landed on the island, or whether he was intentionally sent there.
- GenresMiddle Grade
100 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2021
4 people are currently reading
6 people want to read
About the author
Christopher Francis
42 books136 followersBorn in Brisbane, Australia, Christopher was accepted at age 19 into Sheridan College’s Animation program before earning a degree in Sociology from McMaster University.
He then enjoyed a two-year adventure overseas working with children, before completing his Bachelor of Education degree at York University. He is now teaching junior and intermediate level students in Burlington, Ontario.
Through Christopher’s experience working with children, he found writing and illustrating to be one of his passions. Currently working on a middle grade series, he recently completed and illustrated the first three books. He has also created seven other children’s picture books and illustrated children’s novels for independent authors.
He then enjoyed a two-year adventure overseas working with children, before completing his Bachelor of Education degree at York University. He is now teaching junior and intermediate level students in Burlington, Ontario.
Through Christopher’s experience working with children, he found writing and illustrating to be one of his passions. Currently working on a middle grade series, he recently completed and illustrated the first three books. He has also created seven other children’s picture books and illustrated children’s novels for independent authors.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 23, 2023
It sucked
August 12, 2023
Four and one-half stars
Review of eBook
Eleven-year-old Riley Pickering lives an entitled life. A gifted Triple-A hockey player, he assumes he will one day join the American Hockey League; because of his talent, he assumes everyone will do anything he asks of them. Brianna will do the schoolwork, the younger students on the playground will willing give up their basketball, his parents will cater to his every demand.
Riley Pickering is a despicable bully who believes everyone will cater to his every whim without hesitation. He has no kind words for anyone; he gives nothing but meanness to others. He can’t be bothered to do much of anything except check the hockey scores on his phone. But, believing it to be a requirement for a new training program for the Ontario Minor Hockey Association, he’s dutifully recording his thoughts on a mysterious tablet he received in the mail.
When Riley needs to complete a project for a scientific investigation on flight, he receives a big red box. Inside he finds all the parts necessary to construct a plane. Although Riley is supposed to do the work himself, he manages to talk his father into assembling the plane for him.
On the day that the flight projects are due, Riley takes the Microjet to school. He hadn’t done any of the assembly or read any of the directions, so he has no idea of how to fly the plane. Nevertheless, he pushes some buttons and, after a harrowing flight, crashes onto an unrecognized island.
How will Riley get home? Who will help him? And who is watching him?
=========
Every reader probably knows someone exactly like Riley Pickering. Although well-developed and completely believable, Riley Pickering is a thoroughly unlikable character in desperate need of a wake-up call. And in this intriguing middle-grade tale, he gets one in the most unexpected way.
Filled with surprising twists and turns, the plot keeps the reader guessing as Riley reluctantly moves from whining about his situation to trying to do something for himself . . . and learning some valuable life lessons along the way. Suspenseful and captivating, readers will find it difficult to set this novella aside before turning the final page. The only disappointment here is that readers are sure to want to know what happens to Riley after he makes his red-button decision.
Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of this book from StoryOrigin and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
Review of eBook
Eleven-year-old Riley Pickering lives an entitled life. A gifted Triple-A hockey player, he assumes he will one day join the American Hockey League; because of his talent, he assumes everyone will do anything he asks of them. Brianna will do the schoolwork, the younger students on the playground will willing give up their basketball, his parents will cater to his every demand.
Riley Pickering is a despicable bully who believes everyone will cater to his every whim without hesitation. He has no kind words for anyone; he gives nothing but meanness to others. He can’t be bothered to do much of anything except check the hockey scores on his phone. But, believing it to be a requirement for a new training program for the Ontario Minor Hockey Association, he’s dutifully recording his thoughts on a mysterious tablet he received in the mail.
When Riley needs to complete a project for a scientific investigation on flight, he receives a big red box. Inside he finds all the parts necessary to construct a plane. Although Riley is supposed to do the work himself, he manages to talk his father into assembling the plane for him.
On the day that the flight projects are due, Riley takes the Microjet to school. He hadn’t done any of the assembly or read any of the directions, so he has no idea of how to fly the plane. Nevertheless, he pushes some buttons and, after a harrowing flight, crashes onto an unrecognized island.
How will Riley get home? Who will help him? And who is watching him?
=========
Every reader probably knows someone exactly like Riley Pickering. Although well-developed and completely believable, Riley Pickering is a thoroughly unlikable character in desperate need of a wake-up call. And in this intriguing middle-grade tale, he gets one in the most unexpected way.
Filled with surprising twists and turns, the plot keeps the reader guessing as Riley reluctantly moves from whining about his situation to trying to do something for himself . . . and learning some valuable life lessons along the way. Suspenseful and captivating, readers will find it difficult to set this novella aside before turning the final page. The only disappointment here is that readers are sure to want to know what happens to Riley after he makes his red-button decision.
Highly recommended.
I received a free copy of this book from StoryOrigin and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
June 4, 2022
Riley Pickering is 11 years old. He's a very talented hockey player who plans to be the next Sidney Crosby. As such, he sees no need to do anything other than practice hockey. He certainly doesn't need to learn French, or do his own homework. Of course, he also doesn't need to listen to his hockey coach either, since his hockey coach clearly doesn't understand how important he is. To add to everything else that Riley doesn't ee any need for, he's in sixth grade this year, which means he'll be participating in a program in which he must build his own airplane to fly in a ceremony in two weeks. Needless to say, even after he's delivered a big red box with all the necessary parts, he still doesn't even try - he makes his dad do it. The only thing Riley does do is continue to log his day in the tablet he was delivered by EOTS, thinking it's part of a well-rounded athlete program from the hockey league. But, when the day of the plane ceremony arrives, the unthinkable happens to Riley Pickering. What will he do now?
This book was tough to start because Riley is a truly unlikeable character. His enormous ego has driven him to become a bully to everyone, including his own parents. New iPhone model comes out that he wants? He'll break his current - perfectly good one - and make his mom buy him the new model. He yells at his younger sister all the time, terrorizing her and making her do things for her. It's quite clear that if something doesn't change, he will end up being a terrible human being. That being said, my heart went out to him in those early days on the island. He had gotten so used to having everything done for him that his ability to survive on his own - to even do the smallest thing himself - was nonexistent. Thankfully, he does learn - albeit very slowly.
That ending, though. It was good and bad at the same time. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. While it certainly showed who Riley had become in a very real way, since Paisley and Duschan didn't go through anything like that (at least, that we know of) we are still left to wonder, and that's the part that I didn't like. I'm hoping there will be a sequel, or a short story, to really finish out the story.
After enjoying reading the book, I also listened to the audiobook that was narrated by Coleman Christian. I enjoyed listening to it even more than reading it; the narrator did a wonderful job with the dialogue and the absolute self-centeredness of Riley in the beginning, as well as showing the character development he goes through on the island.
This book was tough to start because Riley is a truly unlikeable character. His enormous ego has driven him to become a bully to everyone, including his own parents. New iPhone model comes out that he wants? He'll break his current - perfectly good one - and make his mom buy him the new model. He yells at his younger sister all the time, terrorizing her and making her do things for her. It's quite clear that if something doesn't change, he will end up being a terrible human being. That being said, my heart went out to him in those early days on the island. He had gotten so used to having everything done for him that his ability to survive on his own - to even do the smallest thing himself - was nonexistent. Thankfully, he does learn - albeit very slowly.
That ending, though. It was good and bad at the same time. I'm still not sure how I feel about it. While it certainly showed who Riley had become in a very real way, since Paisley and Duschan didn't go through anything like that (at least, that we know of) we are still left to wonder, and that's the part that I didn't like. I'm hoping there will be a sequel, or a short story, to really finish out the story.
After enjoying reading the book, I also listened to the audiobook that was narrated by Coleman Christian. I enjoyed listening to it even more than reading it; the narrator did a wonderful job with the dialogue and the absolute self-centeredness of Riley in the beginning, as well as showing the character development he goes through on the island.
April 18, 2023
Riley Pickering is a young man who thinks of no one but himself. He behaves as if the world owes him everything and exists for him alone. What was funny about this is that I see kids like this in my classroom every year. Some leave middle school for high school the same way they entered school. They believe they are the most important person to exist and everyone else exists to do their bidding. In this book Riley receives a package with an unassembled plane. He makes his parents put it together. When the day comes to display their project he is called first. He steps into the plane and starts it up. He has read no instructions so he doesn't know how to fly it. The plane takes off and he crashes into an island. Here he meets two other kids who are just like him. The story is all about change. But can Riley learn or be willing to learn important lessons to get off the island? Like all of the other books this author has written, I loved this book. They are not only fun to read, but they are also full of life lessons. I highly recommend all of his books.
April 25, 2024
Christopher Francis
The Altruism Trial.
Life's Lessons.
Riley was a very self centered 11 year old boy, doing nothing for himself. He bullied everyone around him, making everyone cater to him. He thought since he was a successful hockey player, that's how things should be.
During a project for his grade- a small plane which he made his dad assemble- when it was his turn to show it, he had no idea how to fly it or even what button to push to start it, so he pressed a few buttons and ended up on a deserted island somewhere, by himself.
This was a great story about altruism and realizing you need to do your own stuff.
I received a free copy of this book (SO) and am voluntarily leaving a review.
The Altruism Trial.
Life's Lessons.
Riley was a very self centered 11 year old boy, doing nothing for himself. He bullied everyone around him, making everyone cater to him. He thought since he was a successful hockey player, that's how things should be.
During a project for his grade- a small plane which he made his dad assemble- when it was his turn to show it, he had no idea how to fly it or even what button to push to start it, so he pressed a few buttons and ended up on a deserted island somewhere, by himself.
This was a great story about altruism and realizing you need to do your own stuff.
I received a free copy of this book (SO) and am voluntarily leaving a review.
January 11, 2022
I don't usually read this type of stories but I must say this one kept me captivated throughout. An 11 year old student who thinks the world revolves around him is in for a terrifying but necessary challenge. He receives an assignment to build a plane from his teacher and a mysterious box with all things necessary to build it is delivered to his door. When the day comes, he is in for a shock. I would recommend it to parents and middle grade students. I received an advance copy of this book and this is my honest review.
July 18, 2021
"Are you altruistic?" this was a repeating question that the 11 year old protagonist had to answer the hard way. Riley is a self involved, hockey player who's entitlement attitude landed him in a very interesting set of circumstances.
The author sets the stage wonderfully to create a life adventure in a unique location, packed with twists and turns!
The audio book is fantastic as well....love the narrator!! :-)
Listen to our Book Review on the "Gimme 5" Book Review podcast on youtube!
November 4, 2021
"This is a brilliant read ... well written plot and story line that had me engaged from the start. Love the well fleshed out characters and found them believable. Great suspense and action with and wonderful world building. Once I started this surreal and exciting adventure, I could not put it down. I gave this honest, voluntary review after being given a free copy of the novel.
December 15, 2025
A most interesting way to teach children that being selfish does them no favours. A different outlook on life following hardship works wonders for the youth who expected everyone else to do him kindnesses but didn't see that life is a two-way street.
August 23, 2023
Very interesting book! It wasn’t what I expected, but I liked it. It’s not realistic, but it teaches some great concepts! A wonderful book for older grade school children.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews