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A review by bitchie
On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves
5.0
Ok. First things first.I used to be Smut Bitch, now I'm just Bitchie. So if this review looks familiar, that's why. I also posted this review on Amazon under diremommy.
Now, on to the review:
I know it's early yet, but a book is going to be hard pressed to knock this out of the "Year's Best" slot for me. It had a slow build up (but by no means SLOW, if that makes sense) at times heart wrenching, sweet, even inspiring.
T.J has spent the last year and a half battling cancer. He missed school, he missed his friends, and all he wants to do this summer is just hang out, and be a kid. His parents, however, have other ideas. They want to spend this summer as a family, and they want T.J. to get caught up on his school work, so he doesn't have to repeat a grade. They hire high school teacher Anna to tutor him, and she agrees to go with them on vacation to somewhere tropical that I'm sorry to say, I can't spell.
T.J and Anna are just starting to get acquainted when the unthinkable happens. After hours spent between plane rides and in airports, mechanical difficulties and most, the two are finally almost there. Just two hours away, and they end up the only passengers on a small seaplane. The pilot has a heart attack during the flight, and the plane goes down over the ocean. Anna is completely out of it, but T.J. manages to get them to shore, and takes care of Anna until she is feeling better.
Together, they go through several stages- horror, grief, loneliness, and finally acceptance that this is their reality now. As the years go by, T.J. grows into a remarkable man, and the age difference starts to seem unimportant to Anna, who fights her feelings for T.J. for a long time. When they finally do get together, it doesn't feel rushed or inappropriate at all, it feels like the most natural thing in the world.
These two go through so much together On The Island. They learn to adapt, and as things from their crashed plane begin to wash up on shore, they build a life together, only to suffer loss more than once. Finally, after several years, a tragedy leads to rescue, and then Anna and T.J. have to see if what they had on the island can last in the real world.
This is one of the best books I have read in ages. I picked it up, intending to read a few chapters, but found myself unable to put it down, and read the whole thing through in just one sitting. It is probably a book I will re-read often. If I hadn't looked after finishing it, I never would have guessed that this book was self pubbed OR the author's first book, it is just that good. Even the editing, spelling and grammar that so often plagues indie books was flawless in this one, or so much so that I didn't notice anything.
Now, on to the review:
I know it's early yet, but a book is going to be hard pressed to knock this out of the "Year's Best" slot for me. It had a slow build up (but by no means SLOW, if that makes sense) at times heart wrenching, sweet, even inspiring.
T.J has spent the last year and a half battling cancer. He missed school, he missed his friends, and all he wants to do this summer is just hang out, and be a kid. His parents, however, have other ideas. They want to spend this summer as a family, and they want T.J. to get caught up on his school work, so he doesn't have to repeat a grade. They hire high school teacher Anna to tutor him, and she agrees to go with them on vacation to somewhere tropical that I'm sorry to say, I can't spell.
T.J and Anna are just starting to get acquainted when the unthinkable happens. After hours spent between plane rides and in airports, mechanical difficulties and most, the two are finally almost there. Just two hours away, and they end up the only passengers on a small seaplane. The pilot has a heart attack during the flight, and the plane goes down over the ocean. Anna is completely out of it, but T.J. manages to get them to shore, and takes care of Anna until she is feeling better.
Together, they go through several stages- horror, grief, loneliness, and finally acceptance that this is their reality now. As the years go by, T.J. grows into a remarkable man, and the age difference starts to seem unimportant to Anna, who fights her feelings for T.J. for a long time. When they finally do get together, it doesn't feel rushed or inappropriate at all, it feels like the most natural thing in the world.
These two go through so much together On The Island. They learn to adapt, and as things from their crashed plane begin to wash up on shore, they build a life together, only to suffer loss more than once. Finally, after several years, a tragedy leads to rescue, and then Anna and T.J. have to see if what they had on the island can last in the real world.
This is one of the best books I have read in ages. I picked it up, intending to read a few chapters, but found myself unable to put it down, and read the whole thing through in just one sitting. It is probably a book I will re-read often. If I hadn't looked after finishing it, I never would have guessed that this book was self pubbed OR the author's first book, it is just that good. Even the editing, spelling and grammar that so often plagues indie books was flawless in this one, or so much so that I didn't notice anything.