2014 Book Challenge: On The Island

Ohmagaaaahd. I haven't written anything for a month now and that is we don't have Internet for four weeks now (and counting). Now I'm back to broadband sticks and prepaid cards with no wi-fi features. Ze horror! But seriously, I think I can do without the Internet if not for my weekly TV series and the emails and social networking sites I maintain for my business. PLDT owes me at least a month's worth of free service fee in addition to the rebate they should be giving us. Hay. 

Anyhoo, this is a book (non)review about my latest read- On The Island by Tracey Garvis Graves. Well, my April book theme is books that has 'summer' on its title and I have read four (Jenny Han's It's Not Summer Without You and We'll Always Have Summer, Leah Rae Miller's The Summer I Became a Nerd and Emery Lord's Open Road Summer). For the last week of April, I meant to read Dessen's That Summer, but I guess it was a very slow start and I'm trying to pick up pace here and I can't be with a book I'm struggling to finish. Maybe next time. So this was my pick because at the time of selection, we were Boracay-bound ;) 

School's out and it's summer vacation for Anna Emerson. Needing to sort out personal issues and also some time away from long-time boyfriend, John. The opportunity presented itself when she lands a job tutoring TJ Callahan. In Maldives. On a private seaplane en route to the family's summer rental, the pilot suffers a heart attack and the plane crashes on sea. Anna and TJ survive the crash and make it to a deserted island.

My thoughts:

• It was a very good read (although I should have picked another better time, not when I'm just a few days away from boarding an airplane) and very much a page-turner. It was interesting to know how they were able to make it, to survive without even the barest of essentials. For two city-dwellers, I give them props for surviving three years. Who knew breadfruit was edible? 
• One man's misery is another man's gain. If it not for the 2006 tsunami, Anna and TJ would have not been saved from that island. Even if thousands suffered and died from the tragedy, it was what, technically, saved them from being trapped in a deserted island. 
• After being saved from the island, people gave them flak, most especially Anna, for being in a relationship with someone ten years her junior. Some say there was some sort of sexual harassment that happened as Anna, being older and TJ's teacher/tutor, she has moral ascendancy over him. But you see, this was bound to happen. Kung sa PBB House nga, nagkakadevelopan ang mga housemates after one or two weeks, what more in an island with only that one person? Either you kill each other or you 'do' each other. Haha. I'm even surprised that it didn't happen sooner. I guess the author purposely made it so to avoid legal issues. And actually, it was TJ who already had the hots for Anna even before they were stranded in an island. 
• Good karma. Well, Anna (and TJ) is already lucky to begin with for surviving the plane crash. And in addition to that, after being rescued, Anna received a hefty sum from TJ's parents then a from a settlement case that she didn't need to work another day in her life. But if it were up to her, she still wants to teach but because of accusations of sexual harassment (and, maybe, insinuations of statutory rape), no school would want to hire her. 

Love love love this book. I totally get this book and I understand the bond between Anna and TJ. After being through so much, it's just understandable that these two have bonded so well. I think I gave it five stars. Although I don't think TJ belongs to the best book boyfriend category. Ha. 

This review sucks. Haha.