Skip to main content

On The Island by Tracey Garvis Graves

On the Island
Author: Tracey Garvis Graves
Publication: June 7, 2012
By: Penguin
4 STARS!

Anna Emerson is a thirty-year-old English teacher desperately in need of adventure. Worn down by the cold Chicago winters and a relationship that's going nowhere, she jumps at the chance to spend the summer on a tropical island tutoring a sixteen-year-old T.J..

T.J. Callahan has no desire to go anywhere. His cancer is in remission and he wants to get back to his normal life. But his parents are insisting he spend the summer in the Maldives catching up on all the school he missed last year.

Anna and T.J. board a private plane headed to the Callahan's summer home, and as they fly over the Maldives' twelve hundred islands, the unthinkable happens. Their plane crashes in shark-infested waters. They make it to shore, but soon discover that they're stranded on an uninhabited island.

At first, their only thought is survival. But as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.'s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.


Thank you to Edelweiss and Penguin for this book. This was an engrossing, epic story that left me feeling a range of emotions. I laughed, I cried and I was uncomfortable at times. I enjoyed the alternating POV's but I did find Anna's to be somewhat stilted in the beginning and again towards the end. T.J.'s point of view was my favorite and his transition from a boy into young manhood was both humorous and heart breaking.

This story definitely tests the, "If you were the only two people stranded on a deserted island..." theory and is not without it's challenges.  I don't see how you could endure what Anna and T.J. do and not fall in love but if I'm honest, their age difference did bother me.  (I'm not sure if it's because I'm the Mom of two boys or what, but it did.)  Their time on the island does seem to blur the years between them but the issues raised at the press conference brings it right back into focus. I definitely think T.J.'s experience with cancer made him wise beyond his years but as was apparent through much of the story, a big age gap does impact a relationship depending on what stage of life you're in. 

I found it interesting how the author used what was such a horrible tragedy for most of world as the catalyst for something positive for Anna and T.J.'s lives.  The reactions from their relatives seemed realistic and understandable and I was happy with the way this book ended.
 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Best Of 2012 Blog Hop

  Thanks for stopping by Jenuine Cupcakes! 2012 has been an epic reading year for me and wh ile h aving to choose the BEST of anything is never easy , I pre sent you with a sampling of my Best of 2012. (You'll notice, I've made up a few of the categories to fit my needs but all of these books are fantastic . ) Best Fantasy Shadow and Bone (The Grisha #1) by Leigh Bardugo Best Dystopian/Sequel/People Forgot The MC Was Grieving Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth Best Sci-Fi /A ction /Made Me Beat My Husband U p I n My Sl eep False Memory ( F alse Memory #1) by Dan Krokos  Best Dystopian/Sci-Fi Mashup /I Sa w The Other Hot Boy First Defiance by C.J. Redwine        Best P sychological Thriller /This Book Might Kill Me Be fore It Ends The Evolution of Mara Dyer (M ara Dyer #2) by Michelle Hodkin Best Scared T he Jelly Belly's Out of Me (Because it could happen) Ashen Winter (A shfall #2) by Mi ke Mullins Best Boo

BLOG TOUR: Frazzled by Booki Vivat (GUEST POST + GIVEAWAY)

Meet Abbie Wu! She’s about to start middle school and she’s totally in crisis. Abbie Wu is in crisis—and not just because she’s stuck in a family that doesn’t quite get her or because the lunch ladies at school are totally corrupt or because everyone seems to have a “Thing” except her. Abbie Wu is in crisis always. Heavily illustrated and embarrassingly honest, Frazzled dives right into the mind of this hilariously neurotic middle school girl as she tries to figure out who she is, where she belongs, and how to survive the everyday disasters of growing up. With Abbie’s flair for the dramatic and natural tendency to freak out, middle school has never seemed so nerve-racking! Packed with hilarious black-and-white illustrations and doodles throughout, Frazzled takes readers through Abbie Wu’s hysterical middle school adventures. Amazon | B&N   My Thoughts This book is so freaking adorable! I can't wait to see the finished version with all of Booki's (

Best Series Blog Hop hosted by Cuddlebuggery

Welcome to Jenuine Cupcakes Thank you Cuddlebuggery for organizing this Best Series Blog Hop! *cupcakes for everyone* I have quite a few series that I love but the one I chose to spotlight is The Sweet Series by Wendy Higgins.  Why? Because it's unique, entertaining and jammed packed full of awesome! Sweet Evil (Book 1) Author: Wendy Higgins Publication: May 1, 2012  Amazon | B&N  Embrace the Forbidden What if there were teens whose lives literally depended on being bad influences? This is the reality for sons and daughters of fallen angels. Tenderhearted Southern girl Anna Whitt was born with the sixth sense to see and feel emotions of other people. She's aware of a struggle within herself, an inexplicable pull toward danger, but Anna, the ultimate good girl, has always had the advantage of her angel side to balance the darkness within. It isn't until she turns sixteen and meets the alluring Kaidan Rowe that she discovers her te