On the Island Blog Tour & Giveaway

On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves hit bookshelves on July 10th. You should definitely go pick up a copy. It was my pleasure to review her widely successful book first published in ebook form. Thanks to AToMR Book Tours and Plume for hosting the tour.

July 17th 2012, Plume
319 pages, Paperback
Bought
Contemporary Romance
Amazon | The Book Depository

Goodreads:
When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation; a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library any day. T.J. Callahan has no desire to leave town, not that anyone asked him. He's almost seventeen and if having cancer wasn't bad enough, now he has to spend his first summer in remission with his family - and a stack of overdue assignments - instead of his friends.

Anna and T.J. are en route to join T.J.'s family in the Maldives when the pilot of their seaplane suffers a fatal heart attack and crash-lands in the Indian Ocean. Adrift in shark-infested waters, their life jackets keep them afloat until they make it to the shore of an uninhabited island.

Now Anna and T.J. just want to survive and they must work together to obtain water, food, fire, and shelter. Their basic needs might be met but as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.'s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.

Opinion:

On the Island was an amazing read. It went beyond my expectations, especially for such a popular bestseller. I was so emotionally invested in Tracey’s debut.

T.J. and his tutor, Anna, are deserted on an island after the plane that was supposed to bring them both to T.J.’s family to spend the summer crashes into the sea.  Finding food, water, and shelter involves working together and pooling resources. 16 year-old T.J. matures into a man as the months turn into years. As rescue seems to become hopeless, Anna and T.J. develop reluctant romantic interests from their comfortable relationship. This was a compelling story about what really matters when it comes to love.

I fell in love with the characters. T.J. sounded like a real teen. Tracey created a great voice for someone approaching their adulthood. I felt their ups and downs. From the bats to the crabs and chicken, the friendly dolphin visits to recounting stories from home and about cancer. They learn to lean on each other and find humor in their sad situation. Anna is a smart and sweet woman. She knows how to listen and what to say. Even with her personal issues, Anna continues to be a courageous woman throughout the book. Told in alternating point-of-views, Tracey writes a very realistic and believable book.

I had always been reluctant to read because of the consequences the characters must face from their relationship, not just from the judgment from the readers, but also from T.J’s parents. I’m so happy I took the plunge and read the book. Tracey Garvis-Graves deserves her new book deal with Plume and I will happily read any more of her future books. I recommend this to any fans of contemporary romance or New Adult.

Rating: 5 stars

Thank you for participating in the ON THE ISLAND Event! This week in addition to reviews and posts, select blogs are hosting a word from the author's favorite quotes in the book as a Scavenger Hunt! There is one quote from Anna and one from T.J. Visit each stop this week to find the hidden words (they will be numbered for order) and after July 22nd, submit your answer to the quotes here! Random winners for books and swag will be chosen and notified by July 29th.

Also, next week July 23-27, there will be even more events and chances to win the book and swag!

• Monday, July 23 at 8:00 pm CST - Chat with the author Tracey Garvis Graves! We will be chatting with the author on Savor Chat: http://www.savorchat.com/chat/on-the-island-chat Come join us! (You can sign in with twitter or facebook)
• Each day look at #ontheisland on twitter for random shout outs to win books and swag! @Tale_of_Reviews
• ON THE ISLAND released in bookstores Tuesday, July 10th! If you see the book in stores or 'in the wild' take a picture. Please tweet it and use hashtag #ontheisland. Or you can post it to facebook! Please submit twitter and facebook links of your post/tweet here!  All entries need to be submitted by July 29th.

You can find the rest of blogs participating in the tour here: http://wp.me/p20ttU-oN




Author’s website | Facebook | Twitter

Thank you so much for stopping by today for the blog tour! On the Island is a fantastic read. Plume Books is giving away ten signed print copies. You can enter in the Rafflecopter.





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The elusive Linda-saurus:

Mover and shaker by day, book-ninja by night. Only native to Florida. Afraid of small children but has an affinity to the elderly. Beware of her sarcastic humor.