On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves

Publisher: Plume

Source: Bought (Barnes and Noble)

Edition: Paperback

Pages: 319

Rating: A+

When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation; a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library any day.

T.J. Callahan has no desire to leave town, not that anyone asked him. He's almost seventeen and if having cancer wasn't bad enough, now he has to spend his first summer in remission with his family - and a stack of overdue assignments - instead of his friends.

Anna and T.J. are en route to join T.J.'s family in the Maldives when the pilot of their seaplane suffers a fatal heart attack and crash-lands in the Indian Ocean. Adrift in shark-infested waters, their life jackets keep them afloat until they make it to the shore of an uninhabited island. Now Anna and T.J. just want to survive and they must work together to obtain water, food, fire, and shelter. Their basic needs might be met but as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.'s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.

Okay, so I know that this is primarily a YA blog, so I promise that there won't be Fiction titles constantly! I read a review of this little gem over at Parajunkee by Patti and knew that I had to try it. I'm so happy I bought this book because the story will stay with me for such a long time!

I wondered how the author was going to make the romance between the two characters not gross, since it is such a big age difference. She managed to pull it off beautifully and it found a spot in my top 5 favorite book couples, for sure. Also, I know this might sound wrong... but I've always had a soft spot for teacher/student relationships. I don't think it's right for it to happen in real life, but when it happens in books and movies, I can't get enough of it!

I read this book in one sitting. I've never done that before because there's usually a part of a book that might get a little boring, or I get hungry, or you know... nature calls. I. Did. Not get up once during this book! I kept reading until the last page and felt very satisfied. There honestly wasn't any part of the book that I didn't love.

The alternating view points made this story so easy to read. I loved reading how each of them were feeling instead of just Anna. I definitely had a huge connection to these characters and totally recommend everyone to read this book! If you're in your younger teens, maybe wait a few years to read it because there is some language and sexual scenes in it!