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A review by hobbithopeful
The Island by Natasha Preston
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Privileged influencers get invited to an exclusive weekend at an amusement park that caters to the wealthy. What could possibly go wrong?
The ending and a twist was disappointing, and felt cheap. The book was already pretty short, I'm not sure where a sequel would even come from. The twist was so unnecessary. It was like...okay? I didn't feel shocked or angry or even scared, more just let down. I'm not chomping at the bit for a sequel and don't really feel there was enough story there for there to even be one.
It was really odd and telling how often the main character, Paisley, mentioned that she wasn't "born" into money. Like girl. Just admit that you're rich and privileged. Just because your family didn't come into a lot of money when you were 7 doesn't mean you were struggling and in poverty. Rich is rich. (I don't know why rich people always are looking for cards to play, why are you trying to act like you're not super privileged?)
I also felt like it was a missed opportunity to not bring up the exploitation that true crime podcasts have on families and victims of murder. I was surprised no one called Paisley out for making so much money off of people's tragedies.
There were quite a few characters in this book, and I never really felt any true connection to any of them. Paisley had plot armor, and zero flaws in her character. She would've felt more real if she wasn't so perfect. I found it kinda odd how crappy everyone treated the mean girl influencer. (See, I don't even remember her name, that's how forgettable and blendable the characters are) The majority of people are not going to thrive in a murder situation. I for one, would also hide in a cabinet.
I could write a whole monologue about how just by saying a characters race one time doesn't automatically make them read like that. If you take away one single word from a character description and we can't tell that they are coded to be a POC that is extremely telling.
Do I recommend? It was a fine book, if the premise intrigues you, give it a read. A short and tense book. Plus, I did fear for the character's lives which is always a bonus.
The ending and a twist was disappointing, and felt cheap. The book was already pretty short, I'm not sure where a sequel would even come from. The twist was so unnecessary. It was like...okay? I didn't feel shocked or angry or even scared, more just let down. I'm not chomping at the bit for a sequel and don't really feel there was enough story there for there to even be one.
It was really odd and telling how often the main character, Paisley, mentioned that she wasn't "born" into money. Like girl. Just admit that you're rich and privileged. Just because your family didn't come into a lot of money when you were 7 doesn't mean you were struggling and in poverty. Rich is rich. (I don't know why rich people always are looking for cards to play, why are you trying to act like you're not super privileged?)
I also felt like it was a missed opportunity to not bring up the exploitation that true crime podcasts have on families and victims of murder. I was surprised no one called Paisley out for making so much money off of people's tragedies.
There were quite a few characters in this book, and I never really felt any true connection to any of them. Paisley had plot armor, and zero flaws in her character. She would've felt more real if she wasn't so perfect. I found it kinda odd how crappy everyone treated the mean girl influencer. (See, I don't even remember her name, that's how forgettable and blendable the characters are) The majority of people are not going to thrive in a murder situation. I for one, would also hide in a cabinet.
I could write a whole monologue about how just by saying a characters race one time doesn't automatically make them read like that. If you take away one single word from a character description and we can't tell that they are coded to be a POC that is extremely telling.
Do I recommend? It was a fine book, if the premise intrigues you, give it a read. A short and tense book. Plus, I did fear for the character's lives which is always a bonus.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Murder, Violence, and Blood