BOOK REVIEW: On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves

Publication Date: October 11, 2011

Book Description (Goodreads):

When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation; a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library any day. T.J. Callahan has no desire to leave town, not that anyone asked him. He's almost seventeen and if having cancer wasn't bad enough, now he has to spend his first summer in remission with his family - and a stack of overdue assignments - instead of his friends.

Anna and T.J. are en route to join T.J.'s family in the Maldives when the pilot of their seaplane suffers a fatal heart attack and crash-lands in the Indian Ocean. Adrift in shark-infested waters, their life jackets keep them afloat until they make it to the shore of an uninhabited island.

Now Anna and T.J. just want to survive and they must work together to obtain water, food, fire, and shelter. Their basic needs might be met 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.

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Rating: 

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Book Review:

I read some reviews about the book that it's good but I wasn't that convinced. I thought the plot was just "okay" just about a boy and a 30-year old woman stuck in a island. I hate to admit that I was definitely wrong.

I have to commend the writer because it was well written. I love the spontaneity of how it was narrated and the transition of point of views weren't overlapping . I'm glad that my imagination was not overworked so it made me enjoy the book. 

I love the characters' personality. Anna is a great woman and knows what she wants. She wants to have a husband and children, a family of her own. She's in the stage of her life where important decisions should be made that's why she accepted the job of tutoring T.J. so that she'll have time to think. On the other hand, T.J. is a young boy but acts like a man. He's knowledgeable and funny which makes it all easy to be with him.

At first, Anna and T.J. had a hard time to adjust in their situation. They have no choice but to accept what happened and try to live their lives one day at a time. They had encountered a lot of problems which made them depend on each other for their survival. 

I think I will stop here so I won't reveal much. It's better if you're not anticipating things when you read it. So, that's it! Enjoy!