Abigail asked me the other day if she could get this book so I picked it up for her on the way home from school. She spent the entire afternoon and evening sitting on her new window seat reading and finished the book the following day (hope her exams turn out ok!). I asked to borrow it when she was done, thinking that it was going to be a cute teenager story (I like to know what my kids are reading). What I never expected was to finish the book myself in less that 24 hours and to close the book in hysterical tears wishing the book wasn't over. Bottom line--it's no cute teenager story. It's a compelling book that brought me to tears.
On the Island is the story of Anna, a 30 year old teacher, and T.J., a 16 year boy recovering from cancer that Anna will spend the summer tutoring in the Maldives. Their story begins with a plane crash that lands them on a small uninhabited island. From that opening paragraph, I was hooked and couldn't put the book down. The chapters alternate between Anna and T.J. which I always love but loved even more here so that I could really tell what was going on in the heads of these extraordinary characters who are facing obstacles no one should ever have to face: starvation, lack of water, sharks, illness. As I sat on my bed covered by a blanket because the AC was on too high in my one year old home after driving my daughter to school in her new car, I knew that I wouldn't have lasted a day under the circumstances that Anna and T.J. had to endure on a daily basis.
I won't divulge any details beyond what I have already written because I don't want to ruin the story. What I will tell you is that this book may be the best book I have read all year and that if you only have time to read one book this year, this is the one you need to read. You won't be disappointed.
I am off to find more books written by Garvis Graves. She's a fantastic writer and I can't wait to read more of her books!
Happy reading, everyone!
:) Dodie
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