Timothy of the Cay is a prequel-sequel of The Cay, both written by Theodore Taylor. To appreciate this book the most you have to have read The Cay, or know what it's about. The Cay is about this boat that gets torpedoed and how an old, black sailor, named Timothy and a young white boy, named Phillip survive. Timothy of the Cay can be divided into two biographical parts. One is about how Timothy grew up and how he ended up in that boat. The second is about Phillip's life after he alone gets rescued (Timothy had died in the island during a hurricane) from the cay, the little island that they drifted to in their raft after the accident. Anybody who has read and liked The Cay will like this novel. It kind of fills you in on everything you were curious to know. I enjoyed that it was easy to read. It was exciting to learn about Timothy's realistic life because the author kept you interested. Big things came suddenly and filled you with thrill. Little foreshadowing could be done. On Phillip's life after he got rescued too much was wasted on small talk and little things, and few exciting things happened. The reader could also guess some things which made it a lot less intriguing and attracting to read. The atmosphere of Phillip's later life was constant and a little hackneyed, which made it somewhat dull. This is a short paperback which will entertain you and is written in an appealing way. I especially recommend it to people that have read The Cay.