The primary achievement of The Island is its rich characterization of Wil Neuton. The novel is structured recursively to bring the reader again and anew to a deeper awareness of—and ultimately participation in—Wil's experience. At crucial points the pace of the story slows so that Wil's psychological development can be highlighted.

Three devices give access to Wil's interior life. First, Paulsen uses a narrative style that records Wil's words as well as his thoughts. Through indirect discourse, the narrator tells how different Wil's thoughts often are from his words. In many scenes there is a delicious difference between Wil's routine conversation and the witty comment uttered only in his imagination. Although his parents and acquaintances are seldom aware of Wil's feelings, the reader is always in touch with them.

The second device is the epigraph (usually one hundred to two hundred words...