Frances is the lone survivor and finds herself alone on an island. It'll be a work-camp sort of situation: she'll gain valuable skills and lessons while not putting in jail time for the crime she's committed.Įxcept on the flight, the TeamSkills crew ends up in a terrible accident. The Island was a gripping, well-written story of survival and I really, really enjoyed it.įrances, a girl who has done something Very Bad, is being sent to an island near Indonesia as part of her sentence. I think a fixed ending would have had the potential to feel rushed and so I'm happy with what we have. I usually don't like these kinds of endings but I think it works well here given that there is more than one route the author could have taken. The ending is one of those ones where you have to imagine what happens next yourself. Body hair, bodily functions and periods aren't forgotten about. It's all about survival skills and the durability of the human body. There aren't two people swooning over each other and forgetting the dire situation they are in. One of my favourite things about The Island is that it's a realistic portrayal of being stranded on a desert island it isn't romanticised.

I also adored Dog despite the fact my heart was worrying for his safety the entire time! His willingness to get along with Fran and work together to survive, even when she is being annoying, made it easier for me to root for her too. With Fran being difficult to understand and like, it was nice to have this other character who I could connect with more. We get some lighter moments as well as a really touching bond between them.

The addition of another survivor added a whole new element to the story which I loved. The chapters being so quick makes it a fast paced read that's hard to put down.

She's slowly allowing herself to think of all the bad things which allows us to learn what happened to her and what she did to end up on the expedition in the first place. I thought the interspersed chapters of her past were quite fitting as Fran was delving back into her memories as she comes to terms with her situation. I loved the writing style of short chapters that flip between the past and the present. This is largely down to the flashback chapters where we get to learn more about her life before these devastating events. However, as time progresses, it becomes easier to sympathise and understand her poor choices. She drinks the majority of her water right away and throws away other supplies that would be incredibly useful. She isn't easy to like and she makes some questionable decisions. In the beginning, it is really quite difficult to back Fran and root for her.

The island by olivia levez