I’ve been hearing a lot about this book so I was intrigued…
On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves
(2012, Contemporary) 1/11/13
Grade: 3.5
Thirty year old English teacher Anna Emerson is planning the spend the summer tutoring sixteen year old T.J. Callahan – but when their plane crashes, they end up marooned on a desert island. At first they struggle to find food and water and shelter, but as weeks turn to months and years, they begin to turn to each other for more than friendship.
This was an intriguing story that never quite gelled for me. The storyline was fascinating but the characters weren’t very emotionally developed. It felt more like a narration of a series of events – this happened and then this happened and then this happened, like a child telling a story. But the characters never really developed beyond their initial sketches – we were told that they were in love but it just didn’t feel real. I gave it a slight boost in the rating because it was very readable and I wanted to find out what happened, but I just didn’t find the characters and the romance particularly compelling. I wanted more.
Interesting that this book has gotten so much attention – it has a great “hook” but I found the writing a bit amateurish. It felt like the YA books I read when I was in high school. But I’m pleased to see a self-published author find success.
Karen Wheless
Latest posts by Karen Wheless (see all)
- Love Irresistibly by Julie James - June 18, 2013
- Vacation Reading - June 17, 2013
- The Way Home by Megan Chance - June 1, 2013