by Jen Minkman
Book: The Island #1
Publisher: CreateSpace
Pun Date: June 1 2013
Genre: Young Adult
Format: Paperback
Source: Borrowed
Book Links: Goodreads Amazon
‘I walk toward the sea. The endless surface of the water extends to the horizon, whichever way I look.
Our world is small. We are on our own, and we only have ourselves to depend on. We rely on the Force deep within us, as taught to us by our forefathers.
If I were to walk westward from here, I would come across a barrier – the Wall.
Behind it, there are Fools. At least, that’s what everyone says.
I have never seen one.’
Leia lives on the Island, a world in which children leave their parents to take care of themselves when they are ten years old. Across this Island runs a wall that no one has ever crossed. The Fools living behind it are not amenable to reason – they believe in illusions. That’s what The Book says, the only thing left to the Eastern Islanders by their ancestors.
But when a strange man washes ashore and Leia meets a Fool face to face, her life will never be the same. Is what she and her friends believe about the Island really true?
Or is everyone in their world, in fact, a Fool?
My Review: So I am happy to be working with Jen again! She is a lovely author to work with, and writes some of the best reads.
So the very beginning of the story is pretty fast. You start off in a forest with a group of people. One guy named Ben is crazed over Abby. Though has made it clear that she has no interest in him. Some guys just don't get it though, he goes right in her tent at night. Like come on! Really? Hopefully a punch to the face teaches him something. He wants her and a kid, but apparently no marriage. One girl mentions how its a law to be with the kid and raise it until the age of 10, otherwise he can be in trouble. In other words it sounds like he just wants to rape her and not have much else to do with her. Which at this point I just want to jump in and throw some sort of sense into that head of his. Leia is such a good character through this book, she may be my fav. When she returns to the camp site she and Abby chat. Sol is Ben's brother and may just have her married off to him. Though they now have freedom, Sol isn't thrilled about it....Leia also talks about stories she knows. There is one where you can't cross the line where fools live. They are just that, fools. When thunder clouds show up, its thought as a bad omen. The story goes on and you will learn so much and fall for these characters pretty quickly. The boys however may annoy you for many parts, but they make one heck of a story. Leia tries her best to follow the rules, but something is off to her. Maybe its her and her twin brother Luc leaving at 10. Or the look on her mother's face at that time. Then there is Sol, who isn't the nicest person of them all. There is things in the book that show how our humanity and how things have become. It may just give off a lesson to some. Like how kids can leave at 10, a 16 year old is saving people, then you have 21 year old killing others. I am picky when it comes to dystopian books, though Jen just makes these great books it's hard not to like this one. This book has a lot going on, that at times it doesn't seem like a dystopian book. I enjoyed this book and it's something everyone should try.
My Rating:
✪✪✪✪
