Michael

Being the youngest member of the family, Michael feels he is not taken seriously. Someone he does feel on equal terms with is his beloved dog Stella, who is never far from his side. Michael loves to draw, and fills the boat’s logbook with illustrations of everything he encounters on the journey.

Vulnerable, yet tenacious, both of these qualities will come to the fore when he finds himself separated from his family and fighting for survival on a tropical island, far from everything he knows.

Mum

Mum grew up in the cosy suburbs of South London. The eldest and boldest of three, she led her younger brother and sister in tree climbing adventures and was always the first to dive into the cold lido water, whatever the weather. She found her sea legs at a young age when she joined the Sea Scouts, which gave her a lifelong love of sailing. After doing well at college, Mum fell into a dull office job where she met the man who would become her husband. They bonded over their mutual love of escaping the city and exploring the great outdoors. A natural diplomat, she handles catastrophes and bad tempers with level headedness and can usually diffuse a situation with a few carefully chosen words.

Dad

Dad grew up on a farm just outside of Dublin. Warm and social, he was one of five, with more cousins than he could count and one of the family dogs always at his side. When Dad moved to London in search of opportunity, he fell into a dull office job that was transformed when he met the woman who would become his wife. With two growing children, and feeling they were losing their best years to the rat race, fate took a turn when the company they worked for folded. This would transform their lives, pushing them to hatch a plan to sell their house, buy a boat, and take their family on the adventure of a lifetime. Dad’s main concern is his family’s wellbeing. Although he insists on his parental authority, attempts at sternness are quickly mocked and then quietly abandoned.

Becky

Michael’s teenage sister. Although facing a long voyage at sea away from her friends back home, Becky is mature enough to enjoy Mum and Dad’s company on an adult level, is trusted to have more independence, and be given more interesting tasks to perform on the family boat, to the annoyance of Michael. She has a love/hate relationship with her brother, enjoying sharing his company sometimes, but at other times happily ratting on him to get him into trouble.

Kensuke

Kensuke was born and raised in Nagasaki. He trained as a doctor and was conscripted into the Japanese navy during the Second World War, leaving behind his wife and young son. While at sea, Kensuke learns an atomic bomb has been dropped on Nagasaki, destroying much of the city. Kensuke assumes his own family have perished. His battleship is then torpedoed and he is cast away to a remote island. Kensuke spends several decades living on the island alone, building a treehouse high above the jungle. Fully adapted to the rhythms of the island, his time is measured by the tides and changing seasons, meals are grown or foraged, and he learns to make tools and furniture from found materials. Gentle and respectful, he has gained the trust of the island’s wildlife and they treat him as one of their own. However, the arrival of an eleven-year-old English boy will turn his world upside down.

Stella

The family dog, best friend of Michael, and someone who is always one step ahead of her human counterparts.

Tomodachi

Tomodachi is the matriarch of a group of orangutans who live on the island. She is extremely wary of humans, but has eventually come around to trusting Kensuke. Poachers are an ever-present threat to the fauna on the island, and Tomodachi bears the scars of a previous attack that almost took her life.

Kikanbo

Kikanbo is Tomodachi’s baby. She has the opposite problem of her mother in that she loves humans, and gravitates towards them at every opportunity which sometimes puts her in harm's way.