The novel, Damselfly is a retelling of William Golding’s Lord of the Flies. In this book we see a group of lacrosse players from a private high school, both boys and girls, crash down on a remote island while on their way to a tournament in Japan. Right away we see characters fall into the roles of Piggy, Ralph and Jack (but with new names). There is even a lake full on conchs to aid in the feeding and communication of the group. The force of evil in this novel seems to not only be the interaction between characters but an actual person, not among the group of students, who warns the group to “leave or die.” Like in Golding’s novel, the characters in Damselfly must form alliances and work to survive on this island.

Damselfly, was not original enough for me to feel invested in the book. As a former English teacher who taught The Lord of the Flies for over 10 years, I have to say that this retelling was a disappointment. I picked up the book, hoping for something crafty and creative – instead it felt way too predictable and easy for me to draw the connections between the two works. I think this book would be best received by teens who have not yet read The Lord of the Flies.