Sunday 6 March 2016

The Island by Olivia Levez Review





WOW is the first word that comes to mind. Utterly I am lost for words. I've read a lot of books but The Island has just really caught me.
So I honestly don't know how I can put this book into words besides YOU MUST READ IT!
But I'll start at the beginning...


Getting the book
The lovely Caitlin (at Rock The Boat) emailed me information about some of the new releases among them was The Island.
Now, I'll be honest: the description intrigued me (see below), the cover art looked really cool, but I was slightly hesitant in that my only island book/movie experience was Life of Pi which was rather disappointing (certainly not my cup of tea).
However the cover art also revealed a really thought provoking slogan, 'All is not lost... but some things are hard to find' which really stuck with me.
The Description: 
Frances is alone on a small island in the middle of the Indian ocean. She has to find food and water. She has to survive. And when she is there she also thinks about the past. The things that she did before. The things that made her a monster. Nothing is easy.  Survival is hard and so is being honest about the past. Frances is a survivor however and with the help of the only other crash survivor she sees that the future is worth fighting for.

So I thought I'd try the book and decide for myself.
I was extremely lucky enough to get a final copy before it was out. (big thanks to the Rock The Boat Team! and a huge Happy Belated Book Birthday Olivia!)

so now onto the best part... The Island Review (spoiler free)

The Story/Narrative
The story is well and truly Fran's story. I really appreciated that Olivia kept Fran at the centre of the story yet intertwined the lives of others carefully into the story. The other survivor (who shall remain nameless) had their story told without the narrative completely shifting from Fran, similarly the life of Fran's family were carefully revealed maintaining Fran's viewpoint. Additionally I loved the way the story was told through relevant headings. To name a few there were:

  • Flying Fish and Torture Chairs
  • I wish 
  • Dear Whoever and
  • Do Dreams Have Wet Noses?

These divided the narrative into tiny little chapters revealing the past and present life of Fran. I really liked that I could identify with the heading as I read on. -They were short enough you could take a break at lots of points but the story was so intriguing you'll want to read on!
There was also a really unique voice of Fran throughout: her way of listing, her tone, her thoughts, etc which I really enjoyed!
ALSO... I nearly forgot to mention that I love how Olivia built relationships between characters without following the typical they must fall in love and live happily ever after template I really thought that was unique.

Fran
There were times where I questioned myself, but overall I loved Fran. Yes she is sarcastic, a bit reckless and at times bitterly mean. However, her personality is so vibrant that I found it very difficult to dislike her. She's a character built of many layers and experiences who ultimately just wants to be happy and I feel it's certainly very difficult to dislike her for that.

Lastly The Ending
Just like with Fran as much as I want to hate the ending I can't. The story literally has the biggest cliffhanger and the annoying thing is it works really well. Overall it was a great place to finish but I do wish I could know more as always. This was definitely a story I didn't want to end.

Summary
Reading this book was engaging and was definitely a journey with Fran; learning and understanding her life. The book was beautifully written and so accurate I felt like I was also on the island trying to survive learning new things with every page.
I'm really glad I chose to read this book and certainly can't wait to read Olivia's new book next year!

Thanks for reading my review, see you soon! (Sending bookish magic with this unique GIF!)

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