The Castaway Hotel - 9 - Prologue. Background Information

Seeing how 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 53 year old widower (47 at the beginning of book 1 – August 18) 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) – 18 yo (July 7) – college sophomore – Had been an exchange student in Australia for a year) – 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) – 20 yo (May 6) – college junior – 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. Danny has since started a renewed relationship with his biological mother. (Book 1, chapter 4)

Brandon (Brandon Patrick O’Hara) – 20 yo (March 4) – college junior – 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 – 19 yo (June 10) – college sophomore – Jay is 6’ 1” 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) - 21 yo (April 27) college Senior – just received his 2-year degree in Business Administration – but wants to go into HVAC and eventually open his own company, but people he was working with convinced him he should get a 4-year degree, if he wanted to be successful. – 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) – 19 yo (August 8) – college junior – 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. He is currently attached to Vinnie, who moved in after 9/11. Vinnie went to visit him for Valentine’s Day and caught him having oral sex with another boy. That caused Vinnie to run away for a couple of weeks, but they eventually made up again. (Book 1, chapter 31)

Cole (Cole David Van Cott Currie) – 18 yo (October 22) – (has a job as a mechanic) – 5’ 9 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. His mother showed up again, seeking her boys back, but they went to court to stay with the Curries, although their mother now has visitation rights. Cole has just switched into a technical program, because of his learning problems. (Book 1, chapter 34)

Graham (Graham Thomas Van Cott Currie) – 17 yo (March 10) – twelfth grade (senior) – 5’ 6” 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. His mother showed up again, seeking her boys back, but they stayed a Currie, although their mother now has visitation rights. (Book 1, chapter 34)

Pat (Patrick Alan Murray Currie) – 19 yo (May 28) – college sophomore – 5’ 10” 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) – 18 yo (February 16) – college freshman – 5’ 10” 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. Trey wrote a play as a project for two of his classes and then made it into a video later. It was so well received that his teacher submitted the work in two competitions, one for writing and the other for amateur video production. Trey also won awards at the state and regional level of the Scholastic Writing and Art Competition. (Book 2, chapter 8)

Frankie (Franklin Albert Hopkins) – 20 yo (July 20) – enlisted in the army to be M.P., after he couldn’t find a job with his two-year criminal justice degree – 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. After getting his act together, he came by to apologize for his earlier actions. Trey was so moved by this that he asked Josh to see if he could arrange for Frankie to move back in. Frankie is straight. (Book 2, chapter 17)

Sammy (Tsukimo Yamada Currie) – 16 yo (June 1) – eleventh grade (junior)– 5’ 4” 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. Sammy qualified the previous year for a special history camp, based on an essay he wrote to enter it. (Book 2, chapter 25)

Andrew (Furuhata Yamada Currie) – 13 yo (September 12) – ninth grade (freshman) - 4’ 9” 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. Andrew won awards for his artwork and has been struggling with his delayed entry into puberty. (Book 2, chapter 25)

Dion (Dion Jamal Jackson Currie) – 16 yo (November 27) – twelfth grade (senior) – 5’ 11”, 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. Dion has a fantastic tenor voice and won a scholarship for private lessons, at the University of Pittsburgh, and was selected for the All-State Chorus. (Book 2, chapter 28)

Carlos (Carlos Miguel Garcia) – 18 yo (January 15) – working in a Mexican-American restaurant – 5’ 8” 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) – 18 yo (February 28) – college freshman – 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. Nick just got back from spending a year as an exchange student in Brazil. (Book 3, chapter 7)

Brent (Brent Alexander Currie) – (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 – 18 yo (December 16) – college sophomore – 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. Shannon and Nick have been a couple, although Nick has hinted in his emails that he’s messed around quite a bit in Brazil. (Book 4, chapter 20)

Jake McCarthy – 37 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)

Alvin (Vinnie) Mitchell Rydell Shay – 18 yo – (December 17) college freshman – 5’ 7 1/2” dyed blond hair, Brown eyes, uncut. Vinnie’s parents were killed on one of the flights originating out of Boston on 9/11. Vinnie was born with hydrocephalus and cerebral palsy, and uses crutches to get around. He didn’t want to commit incest with Kevin if he was to be adopted by Josh, so Vinnie had the Shay’s adopt him instead and then give Josh custody rights. Vinnie went to visit him for Valentine’s Day and caught him having oral sex with another boy. That caused Vinnie to run away for a couple of weeks, but they eventually made up again. (Book 5, chapter 4)

Little Ricky (Richard) – 16 – (June 17) eleventh grade (junior) a boy who had lived in a group foster home until the Beckers adopted him. After living with them for a couple of years, his adoptive father had a heart attack and died and his mother is suffering from Alzheimer’s. He came to live with the Curries when that happened. (Book 4, chapter 11)

Cody Reynolds – (January 5) short, slender, dirty blond hair and blue eyes – he was twelve when he arrived to live with Josh and turned thirteen shortly afterward. Cody was diagnosed with A.L.L. (Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia) and fought it bravely, but eventually was beaten by the disease. (Book 6, chapter 11.)

Jesse Albert Cornell – 10 – (August 26) fifth grade – 4’ 3” slender, brown hair, with dirty blond highlights, and brown eyes – he was left at the Currie home on Easter Sunday. His mother felt she had to get him away from his abusive stepfather, before something terrible happened to Jesse. He couldn’t speak when he arrived, due to witnessing his father being shot to death. Jesse was only 4 1/ 2 at the time, but he hadn’t spoken since. Jesse and Andrew became very close and Jesse spoke again when seeking help, after Andrew got hurt in a bicycle accident. (Book 8, chapter 18.) (Alice and John Wells)

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 10 yo grandson (March 7) (Michael/Andrea) – he’s in fourth grade and comes and spends a great deal of time with his grandfather and uncles. (Book 1, chapter 38)

Nicky – Josh’s 9 yo grandson (April 10) (Marie/Adrian) (he and Jordan are cousins) – he is in third grade and also spends a great deal of time with his grandfather and uncles. (Book 1, chapter 38)

Megan – Josh’s 3 yo granddaughter (September 27) (Michael/Andrea) Jordan’s sister and Nicky’s cousin. (Book 5, chapter 8)

Mark Williams – 23 yo (April 2) – just received his B.S. in Finance – 6’ 1” tall, black hair, gray eyes, and straight, with a trim and fit build. Has a girlfriend named Amy. He’s working at a bank and handling Josh’s personal accounts and the Castaway Foundation accounts. 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)

Susan Williams - Mark’s mother, who raised him mostly alone. She moved to Pennsylvania, at Mark’s request to be closer to her son. (Book 6, chapter 17)

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. They also took in Arlene Becker to live with them, because they didn’t want to see her go to a nursing home due to her Alzheimers. (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. Albert had a heart attack and died and Arlene is suffering from Alzheimers. (Book 4, chapter 17)

Peter Dennis – 16 – (October 3) Ricky’s host brother in Australia. Peter just spent the year with the Curries as an exchange student and went on several trips with them. (Book 5, chapter 36)

The Flannery Family – This is the family that shared an island with the Curries during a storm, while they were on their camping/canoeing trip in Minnesota. The families became close and the Curries kept in touch, especially Andrew with their son. The Curries then went to Chicago to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by participating in the parade sponsored by Farrell’s company. (Book 7, chapter 9) Father- Farrell, Mother – Katelyn, Daughter – Alannah, 15, Son – Barry, 13)

Barry Flannery- 13 – (February 11) Barry and Andrew had become close during the camping trip and they remained in contact afterward. Barry talked his father into inviting the Curries to be leprechauns in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Chicago, and then the Curries invited Barry to go on vacation with them, when they took two cruises in the Carribean. (Book 7, Chapter 9)

Ted Beckham – 18 – (July 1) gay nephew of the nurse who took care of Cody at Sloan-Kettering. He came and spent time with us between Christmas and New Year’s. (Book 7, chapter 24)

Nurse Jane – nurse at Sloan-Kettering and Ted Beckham’s aunt. She directed her nephew to get in touch with us, to help him cope with being gay. (Book 6, chapter 19)

Duck (Donald Edward Jamison) – 26 – (May 3) Duck took Vinnie in after the Valentine’s fiasco with Kevin and let him stay there until he went back home. When Josh went to repay Duck and thank him for what he did, he learned about Duck’s sad story with how his father threw him out and invited Duck to become part of their family. Duck went to Chicago with them for St. Patrick’s Day and spent Easter with the family. He will definitely be around more. (Book 8, chapter 2)

The Footes – Lester and Tammy. They’re the couple running the farm-home for the boys. (Book 7, Chapter 33)

The Ballards – Derrick and Amy. They’re the couple running the farm-home for the girls. (Book 8, Chapter 5)

Wil (19) and Marcos (17) De Silva – Nick’s host brothers from Brazil (Book 7, Chapter 3)