Meet Anna Emerson, a 30-year-old teacher looking to make
some extra money during the summer.
When offered a job to tutor 16-year-old cancer patient T.J. Callahan,
who is in remission, she doesn’t hesitate to accept, especially knowing she
will get to travel with his family to their rental home in the Maldives. What could be better than a working
vacation?
Meet T.J. Callahan, on the verge of turning seventeen and
having fought cancer for the last several years the last thing he wants, now
that he is finally in remission, is to be stuck on an island far away from his
friends, with just his family, playing catch-up on school work. In an act of rebellion he refuses to leave
with his family but instead stays behind to attend a “party” with some friends
and decides to fly out with Anna and meet them a few days later.
On the last leg of their route to meet T.J.’s parents the
pilot of the seaplane they have chartered suffers a fatal heart attack leaving
his plane to go down into the shark-infested waters of the Indian Ocean. Having survived the plane crash T.J. and
Anna cling to their life jackets until they eventually wash on shore of an
uninhibited island.
After several days they realize there isn’t much hope for being
rescued and in order to survive they must work together to find food,
fresh-water, shelter and overcome the very real dangers of living on an
uninhibited island. Their days turn to
weeks, weeks turn to months and months eventually turn into years. While Anna arrived on the island as an
adult, each day there she has watched T.J. grow from an adolescent into a man
and she recognizes her feelings for him have also changed. She no longer sees him as a teenager but as
a man whom she depends on, who she has fallen in love with.
This book blew me away.
When I first learned what the story was about I had my doubts. I didn’t think I would enjoy reading about
and older woman falling in love with a teenager while being stranded on an
island. I figured it was going to be
far fetched. I also assumed I probably
wouldn’t be able to relate to the characters and I thought their relationship
might feel awkward with such a large age difference. But so many people were talking about what an awesome book it was
I decided to go against my gut and give it a chance. I am so glad I did!
On the Island was written beautifully and I don’t have
anything negative to say. It pulled at
the strings to my heart and I have no doubt it is a direct result of Tracey’s
amazing ability to tell a story, making every aspect incredibly authentic. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about
it since I finished reading it back in May.
The relationship between Anna and T.J. felt genuine and
wasn’t an instant love at first sight, nor did they get intimate until he
19-years-old so there was never the issue of him being a minor. Because the story was written with switching
POV’s you really understood where each character’s feelings were stemmed from
and you saw they struggled with their growing feelings. It wasn’t rushed. T.J. and Anna literally depended on each other for their
lives. I think their love for one
another grew out of respect and appreciation.
The root of their relationship was teamwork.
I don’t want to say too much more about the story or about
their relationship because I’m not sure I could do it without giving away the
whole plot. This book was incredibly
well written and I think the switching POV’s allowed the story to develop
naturally. For me it wouldn’t have been
the same if I couldn’t experience the intensity of the situations through each
character.
If you are worried whether or not there will be a HEA, worry
no more! You get one. In fact the epilogue was just brilliant and
wrapped up the story perfectly. I
literally couldn’t put this book down once I started and had it finished in one
day. Don’t hesitate like me, go buy it
and experience it first hand for yourself.
It’ll definitely give you a book hangover, the kind you want!
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