Fun fact: I love books about people trapped somewhere, especially if they're thrillers. I was definitely intrigued by The Island which tells the story of an island holiday gone wrong when six teenagers have their tour guide die and their escape boat sabotaged. Stuck on the island, they seem to be haunted by their worst fears as bad things happen to them one by one.
This book definitely started strong and it has a lot of good qualities that most YA thrillers lack. The characters felt distinct and developed enough for the story they were in, and I was genuinely intrigued by the scenario being set up. It was extremely well-paced and I raced through to find out what was happening and who was behind everything.
I think my main issue is that there were a fair few elements lacking, and I think some of those were down to this being a YA book and some weren't. I didn't find the actual ending to be at all satisfying. It was a cool concept but poorly executed in my opinion. I also felt the stakes weren't quite high enough. It is YA but I read a lot of YA thrillers/horror and most of them have stuff a little more intense than this. I'm not sure if it was the events themselves or just how they were written which I found a bit tame, but it would have been nice to have felt more tension as a reader.
Overall, this is a solid YA thriller with a cool premise and a good execution. It's not perfect but there's a lot to like here and C.L. Taylor is clearly very talented. I definitely recommend it as someone looking for a light low-effort read with strong characters.
Overall Rating:
No comments:
Post a Comment