The Castaway Hotel: Book 5

                      CH BACKGROUND INFORMATION – Book 5 

Seeing Castaway Hotel is a complex, multi-book series, I thought I should add this to help you keep track of the characters.  I will list the boys in the order they came into the story, give some vital statistics about them (as of the beginning of this book), and a brief summary about how they came to live there.  I have also decided to include the Book and chapter number when that character was introduced as well.  I will also list other characters, with reoccurring roles in the story, at the end.  I hope this helps you follow the story better.

• Josh Currie – A 51 year old widower (47 at the beginning of book 1) with four grown children (2 boys, 2 girls), who decides to take in foster boys, to help make their lives better.

• Ricky (Richard Allen Glover Currie) - 16 yo (July 7) – eleventh grade (junior) – 5’ 9” tall, longish blond hair and gray eyes, cut, and currently dating a girl, although he doesn’t mind a little fun with his brothers.  Ricky came to Josh as a 7th grade hyperactive, behavioral problem, whose drug addicted mother had died, his father was unknown, and he had no other family.  (Book 1, chapter 1) 

• Danny (Daniel Edward Roma Currie) - 17 yo (May 6) – twelfth grade (senior) – 6’ 1” tall, brown hair and brown eyes and an athletic build, and is currently dating his best friend, Brandon.  Danny was Josh’s second foster son.  He was 13 at the time and kicked out of his home by his parents (mainly his father) when they discovered he was gay.  (Book 1, chapter 4)

• Brandon (Brandon Patrick O’Hara) – 17 yo (March 4) – twelfth grade (senior) – He’s Danny’s best friend and boyfriend, is 6’ 2” tall, blond hair, brown eyes and slender, but not thin.  He came to live with the Curries so he could finish school in Pennsylvania, when his father took a new job in Texas.  (Book 1, chapter 10)

• Jay (Jay Aubrey Curtis) – Ricky’s best friend – 16 yo (June 10) – eleventh grade (junior) – Jay is 5’ 10” tall, has red hair and green eyes and was lanky (ungraceful and thin) when younger, but is filling out and his coordination is catching up to him as he has gotten older.  Jay is also dating a girl, and like Brandon, Jay is also ‘one of the family.’  (Book 1, chapter 14)  

• Dustin (Dustin Mathew Kowalski Currie) - 18 yo (April 27) – (college freshman) – 6’ 0” tall, black hair, green eyes and a solid build, but not fat.  Dustin was thrown out of the previous foster home because he was caught in a homosexual act with the foster parents’ son.  He is bisexual and was once involved with Kevin, but he’s now dating girls.  (Book 1, chapter 29)

• Kevin (Kevin Michael Baxter Currie) – 17 yo (August 8) – twelfth grade (senior) – 5’ 11 1/2” tall, longish brown hair, blue eyes and is slender, with a swimmer’s build.  Kevin was the son of the foster parents Dustin was caught fooling around with.  His father beat him pretty badly after he threw Dustin out, so Kevin ran away.  Kevin was heartbroken when Dustin decided to date girls. Nick stepped in and got serious with Kevin, which helped to ease his pain.  However, when Nick couldn’t stay faithful, Kevin connected with Brent, who later died in a vehicular accident.  (Book 1, chapter 31)

• Cole (Cole David Van Cott Currie) – 15 yo (October)  – tenth grade (sophomore) – 5’ 8 1/2” tall, blond hair and brown eyes.  Cole and his brother, Graham, were found abandoned and malnourished.  They were taken from their home and placed with Josh.  Cole and Graham both suffer from learning disabilities, although Cole has it the worst of the two.  (Book 1, chapter 34)

• Graham (Graham Thomas Van Cott Currie) – 14 yo (March 10) – ninth grade (freshman) – 5’ 3” tall, brown hair, brown eyes and still slender.  Cole’s brother and was also malnourished when he came to live at the Currie household.  Both Graham and Cole suffer from learning disabilities, although Graham’s problem is less severe.  (Book 1, chapter 34)

• Pat (Patrick Alan Murray Currie) – 16 yo (May 28) – eleventh grade (junior) – 5’ 9” tall, dirty blond hair, blue eyes and a solid build.  Pat never had a stable home life, being raised by several different relatives and moved around frequently.  This caused him to have problems in school.  He got into a minor scrape with the law, and Judge Shay asked Josh to take him in.  He also showed some bigoted attitudes at various points, which he now seems to have under control.  Pat was attached to Carlos for a while, but now he’s dating a girl. He is bi.  A lab accident left him blind, but he regained sight in his left eye after undergoing an operation.  (Book 2, chapter 4)

• Trey (Alexander Michael Daniels III Currie) – 15 yo (February 16) – tenth grade (sophomore) – 5’ 9” tall, brown hair, brown eyes.  Trey is slender, shy, a bit effeminate and an avid reader, with hopes of someday becoming a writer.  Trey was an orphan, as his parents and sister were killed in an explosion at his house while he was away.  Trey and Dion are now boyfriends.  (Book 2, chapter 8)

• Frankie (Franklin Albert Hopkins) – 18 yo (July 20) – (college freshman) – 5’ 11” tall, black hair, brown eyes, broad shoulders and a solid build.  Frankie came as a result of getting into trouble and at the request of Judge Shay.  Josh later had to send him away, after he tried to rape Trey, but he just came back to apologize, so Trey suggested that Josh see if he could arrange for Frankie to move back in.  Frankie is straight.  (Book 2, chapter 17)

• Sammy (Tsukimo Yamada Currie) – 13 yo (June 1) – eighth grade – 5’ 1” tall, black hair, black eyes, and small for his age.  Sammy and his brother, Andrew, were taken in after the Curries read where his Japanese father had shot his American wife and then killed himself.  The boys only had their Japanese grandparents, who decided they were better off with the Curries.  (Book 2, chapter 25)

• Andrew (Furuhata Yamada Currie) – 10 yo (September 12) – sixth grade- 4’ 6” tall, black hair, black eyes, and also small for his age.  Sammy’s brother, he came to the Curries after the murder/suicide of their parents.  Andrew was nearly molested on their trip to Texas, but Josh and the boys arrived just in time to rescue him.  (Book 2, chapter 25)

• Dion (Dion Jamal Jackson Currie) – 13 yo (November 27) – ninth grade (freshman) – 5’ 9 1/2”, black hair and brown eyes.  Dion has toffee colored skin, is a loner and non-athlete.   Dion was born to teenage parents and raised by his grandmother.  His mother took off and his father, a fireman, was killed in a fire.  When his grandmother died, Sally became his guardian but thought he’d do better with the Curries.  Dion and Trey are boyfriends, but Dion is bi and just chooses to be with Trey.  (Book 2, chapter 28)

• Carlos (Carlos Miguel Garcia) – 15 yo (January 15) – tenth grade (sophomore) – 5’  7 1/2” tall, black hair and brown eyes.  Carlos is stocky, but not obese.  Carlos and his mother (an illegal Mexican immigrant) moved from California to Philadelphia with her boyfriend.  The boyfriend physically abused Carlos and Carlos ran away.  Josh was able to keep Carlos and his mother together, by helping to arrange for her to be in the country legally and by helping her to find a job and place to live.  (Book 2, chapter 36)

• Nick (Nicholas Mark Lawrence) – 15 yo (February 28) – tenth grade (sophomore) – 5’ 10” blond hair, blue eyes and a swimmer’s build.  Nick thought his father hated him because he was gay and ran away from home.  The Curries found him in Arizona, while on vacation.  They managed to reunite the family, but Nick also got to stay with the Curries and go to school there.  (Book 3, chapter 7)

• Brent (Brent Alexander Currie) – (birthday was March 17) – Brent was picked up hitchhiking, as the Curries returned from Baltimore.  His parents had thrown him out because he was gay and they couldn’t change him.  Later he was killed in a vehicular accident, when he went on vacation with a friend and his family.  (Book 4, chapter 4)

• Shannon McCarthy – 16 yo (December 16) – junior 5’ 10 ½” blond hair, brown eyes, cut.  Shannon is gay and was being bullied by some Boy Scouts, who had found out about his orientation, and the Currie boys came to his defense.  He and his father came to live with the Curries after Josh suffered a heart attack, at Brent’s funeral.  (Book 4, chapter 20)

• Jake McCarty – 34 yo and Shannon’s father (January 21).  He had married and tried to be straight, but it didn’t work.  He and his wife divorced after she found out, and later she asked him to take Shannon, after she learned he was gay too.  He and Shannon moved into the Currie house after Josh suffered a heart attack, but the Currie boys had been trying to fix them up before that.  (Book 4, chapter 20)

Other recurring characters:

• Sally Swarthout – works for Dept. of Social Services, and Josh’s friend.  Sally helped convince Josh to become a foster parent and brought him many of the boys.  The boys call her Aunt Sally.  (Book 1, chapter 1)

• Patrick & Brenda O’Hara – Brandon’s parents.  They have become Uncle Pat and Aunt Brenda to Josh’s boys.  (Brenda in Book 1, chapter 12 and Patrick in Book 1, chapter 35)

• Howard & Audrey Curtis – Jay’s parents.  Have become Uncle Howie and Aunt Audrey to Josh’s boys.  (Book 1, chapter 35)

• Steve & Mary Shay – Steve was the judge who presided over the first group adoption and arranged for Pat and Frankie to come to live with the Curries.  He and his wife have since become good friends of the family and the boys call them Uncle Steve and Aunt Mary.  (Steve in Book 1, chapter 40 and Mary in Book 2 chapter 23)

• Josh’s older children, listed from oldest to youngest – with spouse listed in parenthesis, if there is one: Michael (Andrea), Marie (Adrian), Robert, and Elizabeth (Timothy).  (Book 1, chapter 38)

• Jordan – Josh’s 7yo grandson (March 7) – he’s in second grade and comes and spends a great deal of time with his grandfather and uncles.  (Book 1, chapter 38)

• Nicky – Josh’s 6 yo grandson (April 10) (he and Jordan are cousins) – he is in first grade and also spends a great deal of time with his grandfather and uncles.  (Book 1, chapter 38)

• Mark Williams – 19 yo (April 2) – 6’ 1” tall, black hair, gray eyes, and straight, with a trim and fit build.  He’s a finance-major at Northern Arizona University.  Waited on the Curries when they ate at a restaurant near the Grand Canyon, in Arizona.  He was illegitimate and lived with his mother in Oregon.  (Book 3 – chapter 3)

• Mike and Julie Lawrence – Nick’s parents, from Oklahoma.  They have become very close to the Curries since Josh helped reunite them with Nick.  (Book 3 – chapter 31)

• The Yamadas – Sammy and Andrew’s Japanese grandparents.  (Book 2 – chapter 32)

• The Spences (John and Margaret) - Older couple the boys met on the plane on their Arizona vacation.  The Spences have started to become surrogate grandparents to the boys since then.  (Book 3 – chapter 1)

• The Beckers (Little Ricky’s adoptive parents) – an older farm couple who were childless and decided to adopt Little Ricky (when he was 13) with the Currie’s assistance.  (Book 4, chapter 17)

• Little Ricky (Richard) – 13 – (June 17) a boy who had lived in a group foster home until the Beckers adopted him.  (Book 4, chapter 11)

The English Visitors:  (Book 3, chapters 28 & 29)

• Nigel Barstow- 47 yo – 5’ 6” - the father of the English family similar to the Currie family.

• Padraic – 17 yo – from Ireland – parents killed in a bombing – brother of Sean

• Sean – 16 yo – from Ireland – parents killed in bombing – brother Padraic

• Ivan – 15 yo – from Croatia – cousin of Andre – war orphan

• Andre – 14 yo – from Croatia – cousin of Ivan – war orphan

• Joseph- 17 yo – from Russia – ran away when his parents turned on him because he was gay - his family were Orthodox Jews and couldn’t accept their son being a homosexual.

• Kjetil (pronounced Schet Til) 16 yo – a Norwegian boy living in London – parents died from a food borne illness, possibly mad-cow disease.

• Baz 15 yo – A Palestinian boy whose parents were killed in a riot.

• Will (short for William) 13 yo – son of a distant cousin of Nigel’s, from Leeds.  He lived with his mother, who died of a viral infection.