The Goats

The Goats by Brock Cole. Published 1987.

I just read a post about this book still being a classic and full of suspense and surprises on another website, so I thought I would give it a try. Based on the super cheesy 80s cover that my copy has, I was surprised by this book, but not necessarily sure it it was a good surprise.

As a practical joke, a boy and a girl are left stranded on an island completely naked. Instead of waiting for their humiliation in the morning, they decide to swim to shore and disappear. This leads to their becoming closer through their trauma and causing worry both for the camp and the girl's mother. It's a survival tale of two kids on their own trying not to get discovered by the police or anyone else.

For the most part, that description matches with that on the book cover except for the survival bit. I was expecting more of them to haunt around the camp ground and watch as everyone worried over them. I thought it would be a more guilt-based book with them torturing these that tortured them with worry over their possible death by drowning. Instead it was an odd survival tale with extreme hints at sexualization and coming-of-age in strange ways. Also its a bit dated with the segregated camp for Black kids and how they hide out there with a little bit of fear and awe. I was surprised that the girl's period played such a large role in the story and that they kept hinting at the two kids being put together to possibly have sex. From the narration and the description of the kids, I expected them to be much younger and the sex stuff kinda threw me for a loop.

It was an intriguing read and I did wonder what was going to happen to them and I was satisfied with the ending, but it was also a very odd tale of survival.

Interest level: Grades 5-8 Reading level: Grade 4 (from content I would say Grade 6 or higher)
Genre: Coming-of-age, Survival, Realistic fiction

Comparable titles: Hatchet, Are you there God, It's me Margaret?

Book Connections: bullying, the reality of practical jokes, how to survive on your own, what to do in emergencies