211:: Bill is Cait's old best friend. Cait misses the 'old' Bill who used to enjoy trips to the library and looked at the world innocently. Their friendship falls apart when they begin to discover the world in different ways; whilst Cait tries to live her life quietly Bill craves attention and sex, alcohol and everything she believes will make her more 'grown-up' and in fact makes her more childish.
205:: The seventeen-year-old title character. Lucas tells Cait that his mother gave birth to him when she was young and Lucas had later left home for mysterious reasons, traveling from town to town. However, we never find out his full, true story and he remains a mysterious character which is part of his persona. He is a soft-spoken character with the potential for danger.
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with the friends she used to have and that is why she is attracted to Lucas; he is a simple, untainted outsider who has a both pure and animalistic instinct setting him apart from everyone she knows. She tells the story a year after the events occurred because her father, a writer, told her to "cry herself a story", and understand what happened better.
229:: Jamie Tait is the son of a powerful man in town. Although he is engaged to the daughter of the police captain, he is a sexual predator who threatens Cait on multiple occasions. He is extremely prejudiced against Lucas and like all prejudices it stems from his fear of Lucas, the threat of Lucas being so attractive and such an unknown quantity.
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which is very dangerous, since one wrong step can lead to death by sinking, he does not stop while the villagers stay in place. When
Caitlyn gets there, she takes the first step, but does not get through all the way to Lucas, because Dom and John take a hold of her, because it is deadly, leaving Caitlyn thrashing around and shouting 'Lucas'.
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When the islanders come to the McCanns' house, knowing Lucas is there, Lucas is told to stay with
Caitlyn in hiding as Dom and John (Cait's brother and father) go to talk to the villagers. Lucas and Caitlyn, however, can see what is happening through a crack in the roof. When Lucas sees the villagers
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Lucas is forced into hiding. However, he feels an urge to visit Cait one last time. Unfortunately, Jamie has decided to frame Lucas for the rape, assault and attempted murder of a promiscuous islander named Angel, who had befriended Bill, Cait's old best friend. The novel climaxes as the islanders
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Cait is a strong willed teenager, who feels alone on the island - her best friend is growing up in the wrong crowd and she does not want to be a part of their toxic behavior. Although she runs environmental charity stalls she is not as interested in that as she appears - she wants life to be simpler
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After a few talks with the islanders, Lucas turns around and looks at the hole where
Caitlyn is peeking through and waves goodbye, and runs, the islanders chasing him. When Caitlyn sees this, she comes out of hiding and runs as fast as she can just to get to Lucas. When Lucas gets to the mudflats,
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he receives at the hands of the town folk. He works a few odd jobs, but is the victim of attempted assault, forcing him to defend himself and earn a negative reputation. Primarily this comes from Jamie Tait, a university student and popular islander from a wealthy family. The negative behavior
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home, Hale, which is roughly four miles long and two miles across at its greatest extent. She begins her story by explaining when she first met Lucas, a mysterious teenager who has traveled to the island to explore and live for a short time period. On the same day that she first sees Lucas, her
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Caitlyn, depressed, does not talk or eat as much for days. People visit her, though she is still glum and does not mind them much. The police officer comes and gives them Lucas' things and his notebook, saying that everything is clear because of it and Lucas' bad reputation is recovered.
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through Cait's narration. She changes a great deal throughout the novel and there are many references to her being both "an adult" and "a child," referring to her changing personality. More than just coming of age though, Cait seems to develop a better
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235:: Angel is the teen friend and sort-of mistress of Jamie, and Bill's "idol". She has a wild reputation for making bad choices and being promiscuous but underneath it all is just as lost, confused and lonely as Cait
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continue to protest and threaten the McCanns, he decides to take the problem into his own hands. Lucas says goodbye to
Caitlyn and tells her to stay in place. Initially, Caitlyn protests, but then she obeys.
223:: John is Cait's father. He is an author of Young Adult fiction, is Irish and an alcoholic, due to the death of Cait's mother years before. He is in his early forties and supports Cait unconditionally.
217:: Dom is Cait's older brother who returns from university. At first he is involved in drugs and the island's party scene, but comes to his senses when he realizes how dangerous it is, via Cait.
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is always possible for those who look for it. In addition, Brooks explores how just one person (both Jamie and Lucas) can have a massively large impact on small communities.
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named Cait who lives on an isolated island off the coast of
England and befriends outsider Lucas, eventually falling in love with him only to see the island's
241:: An unsure-of-self boy who works with Cait on projects. Simon has a crush on Cait and Dominic uses this to taunt Cait before Dominic changed.
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escalates when Lucas rescues a young girl from drowning during a town festival, but is met with accusations of
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has received numerous pieces of praise from a variety of different sources. The novel has been compared to
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Lucas, however does not respond and just steps in one of the mudflats and sinks, leaving
Caitlyn.
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The story opens as fifteen-year-old Cait recounts events occurring a year before on her small
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brother returns home and she is nearly assaulted by another islander, Jamie Tait.
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However, Lucas is not accepted into the island community easily, due to the
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Jones, Nicolette (26 January 2003). "Children's book of the week: Brooks".
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attempt to capture Lucas, who is innocent of the crime.
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298:Most notably, he expresses the theme of
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314:and distrust of strangers (
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310:Other themes include how
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397:The Chicken House books
267:Nicolette Jones of the
377:Kevin Brooks Biography
278:The book also won the
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402:Novels set on islands
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255:To Kill a Mockingbird
192:Caitlyn 'Cait' McCann
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320:redemption
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187:Characters
137:prejudices
52:Tony Stone
245:Reception
209:Bill Grey
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133:teenager
131:about a
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60:English
296:Lucas.
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
