On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves is a survival story. Anna and TJ are stranded on an island in the Maldives after a plane crash. When nobody comes to the rescue, will they survive? It takes quite a while for the couple (a teenager and his tutor) to realize that nobody is going to save them. Meanwhile, they start out sleeping on the beach, then building a lean-to, and gradually learning to survive with the little food available on the island.
I bought On the Island after reading The Girl He Used to Know and reading reviews of the author's other books. On the Island was a favorite of readers that got a lot of positive reviews and I saved it to read during a time when I was feeling a little slumpish (which has been happening a lot, this past year).
Recommended but not a favorite - I liked the story, in general, because I love survival stories. But, I had problems with a few picky details and happy coincidences. For example, the heroine's suitcase and the hero's backpack conveniently wash up on the beach. That was actually plausible if you consider the fact that they allowed the current to bring them to shore. The same current could have brought their luggage.
However, Anna shoves aside wet clothing to find a treasure trove of products she packed knowing there was no drugstore at their destination. Some of that stuff would have melted away, realistically, if water got into the suitcase. And, when TJ uses her earrings as fish hooks? Well . . . maybe other folks have earrings strong enough to catch a fish but I sure don't.
Not sure I bought into the romance, as well, especially the book's ending. I liked On the Island enough to finish it, although I felt kind of "meh" about it. Maybe it was just the wrong time for me to read it. It's definitely notable that the book has a 4.12/5 rating at Goodreads and the one person who commented when I posted about On the Island at Instagram remembered it as "unputdownable". She agreed that it had a sagging middle. I would not tell anyone to avoid this book, lest you find my review too negative. I thought it was fun, but some of its plot points just felt a little too convenient.
Other reviews:
The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves
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Doesn't really sound like a book I'd pick up but I had to stop by because of your bookish model.
ReplyDeleteIsabel is an excellent model, for sure! Thanks for stopping by, Tina!
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