Narrated by Heidi Baker
I find I tend to avoid books that get a lot of hype, especially indie books. Part of that might be innate stubbornness on my part, but it’s also because often the book doesn’t live up to expectations, at least not for me. Occasionally this habit of mine means I miss a really enjoyable read. That almost happened with On the Island. The title kept popping up on book discussion forums and on my friends’ Goodreads lists. After good ratings and a few thoughtful reviews, I finally put On the Island on my “to-read-maybe” list and promptly forgot about it. It might have stayed there forever if Audible.com hadn’t put the title in one of its hard-to-resist sales. I bought it, and I’m so glad I did.
The basic plot is fairly simple and not completely original. Two people are stranded on a tropical island and must depend on each other in order to survive. T.J. Callahan, almost 17, is in remission from Hodgkin’s disease and destined to spend part of his summer vacation studying with a tutor so he can catch up with his high school class. Anna Emerson, 30, is the tutor hired to spend the summer in the Maldives with T.J.’s family as his tutor. For Anna, the plan combines a job, a vacation, and a chance to decide whether her long term relationship with John has a future.
The plot has all makings of a really awful book. There are so many pitfalls here that it’s doubly amazing to me that Garvis-Graves pulls this story off with very few stumbles. To make the story work, the author has taken a few shortcuts, such as the fortuitous salvaging of several items from the downed plane, but they are forgivable. On the Island is not too heavy despite the Robinson Crusoe plot line. On the other hand, while not taking itself too seriously; the story also doesn’t trivialize the hardships of survival or the physical and psychological effects on the characters. And while juggling all that, Garvis-Graves also makes the book compellingly readable. Heidi Baker’s narration helps make the book “unput-downable” as well. Her reading has an upbeat quality without sounding too much like a cheerleader most of the time. At first I thought her voice sounded a little young for Anna, but that passed quickly, especially since the point-of-view of the book switches every chapter between Anna and T.J. Ms. Bakers voice doesn’t change a great deal for the characters, but I rarely got confused about who was speaking. I enjoyed the rhythm of her reading, which added intimacy to the story.
Like a diary, the story contains fairly mundane details of daily life. I didn’t find these details boring or extraneous. Each one gives a better picture of the settings and the characters. The time on the island is fascinating. Ms. Baker’s crisp reading makes the entire experience real without making it overly sentimental. A few reviewers mention the narrator’s reading speed, saying it is too fast. I didn’t notice that her reading was fast; it felt right to me.
Garvis-Graves handles the coming of age for T.J. with a deft hand and keeps this love story from becoming sleazy. Anna is a lovely, honorable woman. T.J. is a boy becoming a man who notices Anna as a woman long before he does anything about it. Their relationship is built on trust and mutual respect first, and it feels honest and believable. The way the sexual attraction is handled is frank and without drama.
The story doesn’t end on the island, of course, and Anna and T.J. face a different kind of survival back with family and friends. This part of the story isn’t quite as captivating, but is still well done. The resolution is believable and satisfying.
Carrie
Narration: B+
Book Content: A-
Steam Factor: Glad I had my earbuds in
Violence: Minimal
Genre: General Fiction
Publisher: Tracey Garvis Graves
