Island Living

Searching for Sky by Jill Cantor

I’m dating myself but – if you’ve ever wondered what happened after The Blue Lagoon  kids got saved – this is your story. Imagine being thrust into modern day California after living on an island for all of your life. We’re not talking a resort island, or Gilligan’s Island. Real survival island, where you and your friend are the only two people on it.  

The writing style feels a bit elementary because the characters have such simple labeling for items in their world, but it serves the plot. While this was not the best book I’ve ever read, I was vested in Sky & River early on, and cared about what happened to them. I’m not sure about the ending.  I had another teacher friend read it to get her take, and she came away with a more realistic ending than I wanted.  She’s probably right.  I just don’t like it.  

Nil by Lynne Matson

I used to watch Survivor, then I got tired of the sameness. Nil reminds me a bit of survivor, but instead of being voted off the island, the characters have a year to catch a gate, or they die. There is no camera crew or host to intervene when someone gets hurt to take them to the hospital. The stakes are definitely higher on Nil.

I thought this was fairly paced and an easy read. The world building flowed into the story rather than being an info dump. You do need to watch the chapter headings as Charley and Thad take turns telling the story. If you hate insta-love, you’ll be annoyed, but maybe you’ll be pacified by the whole intensity of the one year left to live dynamic. I got a bit panicked, toward the ending, because I’d looked online and noticed there was a sequel. Thankfully this one does not have a cliffhanger ending.  I hope the second book is a companion, and gives more info on Nil and some of the other characters.  

I’m glad this one is in my library, and I will happily buy the next one.