O'Reiley's Island

by William Rial Wardlaw

Thomas O'Reiley is nineteen years old when he is accused of murder and flees for his life from San Francisco in the late eighteen-hundreds. Seeking refuge on a merchant sailing ship laden with cargo and bound for Australia, he is toughened to this new life at sea among the best and the worst of seamen and the awesome beauty and fury of nature. Existence as he has known it ends when he finds himself alone on an isolated island in the South Pacific. Days and weeks and months become years as his survival depends upon emergent courage and resourcefulness as well as the gradually awakening desire to reconcile his life in San Francisco and perhaps return to the young woman he barely knows. But the risks he faces are formidable as thousands of miles of open sea separate him from his ultimate destination.O'Reiley's Island is an account of courageous personal initiative, self awakening and determination as young O'Reiley faces the ghosts of his past and the awful uncertainty of his future-the hangman's noose.

176 pages, Paperback

First published February 19, 2008

Reviews

[Kristyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! The story is great, the settings are fantastically described, and the ordeal is fascinating.

[Donnelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I initially read this because I personally know the author and was excited someone I knew wrote (and published) a book. The more I read, the more I enjoyed this book and came to care about O'Reiley and his struggle. Mr. Wardlaw is a very descriptive writer, which is a style I am partial to. O'Reiley's struggle on the island is facinating. I found the description of him breaking his leg and fixing it himself very well written - it actually made me cringe!

I would have liked the story to go on a little longer after his return to California. I hope to read another book by Mr. Wardlaw someday soon.