On the Island - Tracey Garvis Graves

4 Stars!

ABOUT THE BOOK -

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 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. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR -

Tracey Garvis Graves lives in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa, with her husband, two children, and hyper dog Chloe. This is her first novel. She loves hearing from her fans and can be found on Twitter @tgarvisgraves and at facebook.com/tgarvisgraves. 

MY REVIEW -

I have wanted to read this book as soon as I saw it at the airport bookstore last year. My daughter bought it for me for Christmas - Yay! This book did not disappoint me. It was just as good as I thought it was going to be. There were just a few small spots that got a little slow and monotonous but other than that it was a great story.

This story was exciting, quirky in spots and romantic, but also sad and scary. 

I love disaster/survivor type stories, and I love any book that takes place on an island or beach so this was a perfect fit for me. This book was like a cross between reality show "Survivor" and the movie "Cast away" with Tom Hanks. I thought the book was written very well and it did seem believable. I can't believe this was the author's first novel, it doesn't read like a first novel. It reads like one of an experienced author.

The character development is excellent. And the descriptions are equally as good. This book does get graphic in a couple spots, but it is on an island, with sharks and bad weather etc. and well - stuff happens.
I really liked Anna and thought she held it together very well considering the situation they were in. She was the rock. If I was stranded on an island I think I would have wanted her there, if I was by myself I honestly don't know if I would know what to do. I don't think I could last as long as they did. It was nice that they had each other (unlike in castaway, where he was alone). I think your chances are much better if you have someone there to help and even to talk to.

I highly recommend this book! It is very exciting, interesting, and at times you will be on the edge of your seat, and at other times you will have tears running down your face. I also really liked the ending, the whole experience was fantastic. And now I know I do not want to be stranded on an island, even in my dreams!

Get it from Amazon - HERE
and at B&N - HERE