George, Jean Craighead. Tree Castle Island.

GEORGE, Jean Craighead. Tree Castle Island. HarperCollins. 242p. illus. c2002. 0-06-000254-9. $15.95. J

George is known for her novels My Side of the Mountain and Julie of the Wolves, in which young people survive in the wild, getting to know the flora and fauna that can feed and shelter them. She sets this similar novel in the Florida Okefenokee Swamp, with a 14-year-old boy setting out on an adventure in the canoe he has built himself. Jack is never lost. When he finds a lovely island, he decides to camp there. A dog similar to his own pet at home keeps him company, and he hears strange calls from the woods that seem to be communicating with the dog. About halfway through the story, an amazing thing happens: Jack meets another boy who is his mirror image, a boy who is the owner of the dog. The boy, Jake, asks, "Are you adopted?" Jake knows he is adopted, and he assumes Jack is his identical twin. Jack's parents never have told him this, so at first Jack protests, and yet as the boys spend more time together, comparing birthdays and personalities, they are convinced they are in fact identical twins. A major part of the plot is how they confront their families and learn about their own histories.

The glory of the plot, however, is typical George: detailed information about wildlife, how to build a shelter, how to survive in the wild. Jake is on the island with young turkeys who have imprinted on him--he is helping them to learn to survive on their own, to release them. A young bear cub also becomes their charge, and Jack takes on the responsibility of teaching the cub how to forage in order to survive. The boys build a shelter, their tree castle, using materials found on the island. They are perfectly comfortable and capable.

The beginning of the book, in which Jack sets off on his own, is strange in the way that Jack talks to himself constantly, addressing the canoe, for instance, as a companion. This is annoying in a way, but it is woven into the plot as Jake says he too always talks to himself, annoying his family, and the boys conclude they were each talking to the twin who wasn't there anymore. When the boys are reunited on Tree Castle Island, they have each other to talk to and they chat and argue and tease and thoroughly enjoy each other's company. YAs with an interest in Florida ecology, in wildlife rescue, in scouting, are naturals for this book.