DEVIL'S ISLAND

Marked on its cover as "Cliffhangers 1," DEVIL'S ISLAND is the first in a series of kids' adventure books from Australia designed to be fast, action-packed reads. In this opener, Luke, an Aussie teen, is sea kayaking around forbidding Devil's Island when waves dash him into the rocks. First, he has to climb an impossible cliff; then he finds a skeleton; then a mad scientist threatens his life. You get the idea. Australian actor Peter Hardy gives his reading the suspenseful quality that's clearly intended, but this is a lot like the breathless Choose Your Own Adventure books, without the advantage of being able to choose anything. M.C. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 02]