On the Island [Paperback]

Ms. Tracey L. Garvis Graves (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 14, 2012

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.

"On the Island is a clever, captivating story. The characters will live in your thoughts long after you turn the last page." ~ Meira Pentermann, author of Firefly Beach

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The relationship between Anna and TJ was sweet and sexy and very real...the idea of their age difference was neither a shock nor unbelievable. The bonds created between individuals under duress are strong and enduring. And the romantic in me loved it as well." ~ Cricket, Mostly Fantasy

"So much more than a simple survivor story, On the Island takes two highly developed characters--both at turning points in their lives--and forces them into an endurance situation which will alter them both forever. Both characters were incredibly realistic." ~ Jesi, Diary of a Bibliophile

"On the Island is a clever, captivating story. The characters will live in your thoughts long after you turn the last page."  ~ Meira Pentermann, author of Firefly Beach

"I wish all books were this well thought out and developed. It exceeded my expectations. A 4 star book for me is one that I can't put down. A 5 star is when I put it down and I can't stop thinking about it for days. Fun, dramatic, serious, and sweet, but it will make you think about your own life and relationships." ~ Kate, Amazon review

"On the Island had an extremely risky storyline; not many authors could have pulled it off. Tracey Garvis-Graves' beautiful writing style and her outstanding character development made this story what it is: a phenomenal adult romance novel." ~ Reading, Eating, and Dreaming

About the Author

Tracey Garvis-Graves lives in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa with her husband, two children, and hyper dog Chloe. This is her first novel. She blogs at www.traceygarvisgraves.com using colorful language and a snarky sense of humor to write about pop culture, silly television shows, and her suburban neighborhood. She is hard at work on her next book. You can e-mail her at [e-mail]. She’d love to hear from you.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 332 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (March 14, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1466363215
• ISBN-13: 978-1466363212
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2,062 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #435,071 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Tracey Garvis Graves lives in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa with her husband, two children, and hyper dog Chloe. She is the author of On the Island, Uncharted, and Covet. She blogs at www.traceygarvisgraves.com using colorful language and a snarky sense of humor to write about pop culture, silly television shows, and her suburban neighborhood. You can also find her on Twitter and Facebook. She is hard at work on her next book.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

362 of 412 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars COMPLETELY blown away!!! December 19, 2011

By SunFlowers

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I'm ridiculously hard to please when it comes to romance novels. I make no qualms about my quirks. If I hate a book, I will always say so. I don't sugarcoat. I usually raise eyebrows at books with overwhelmingly 5 star reviews. I figure this is the author paying people to shill and/or friends of the authors. Basically deceptive and fake reviews. There's so much of this going on so it's not uncommon to think of.

But I got the sample and something about it hooked me good so I bought it, read it and FELL IN LOVE with it.

5 stars is a rarity for me. When I 5 star something, trust me that you can take it to the bank. I found this book on the romance forum as a recommendation for older heroine/younger hero. The age gap made me balk for a minute but after reading the sample I couldn't resist the pull of this book.

There wasn't ONE THING I disliked in this book. Not a single thing. It was all around, 100%, grade A PERFECTION.

The hero is perfect. The heroine is perfect. They are human and flawed and make mistakes but when I say they're perfect, I mean that I really LOVED them as characters, as people. It's rare to read a character that's genuinely good. Inherently good with nothing to dislike about them.

I don't even need to give a summary of this book because the written summary already tells exactly what it's about and I don't want to spoil this goodness. It's long but it's so perfect. The characters are fleshed out, their time on the island is fully developed and you truly get to know T.J. and Anna. After a few pages, it almost stops being a book and becomes a movie. The author was meticulous descriptive and it was as if you could literally SEE them on this island. SEE what they were doing and it was wonderful.

There was a small bit of continuity error on the timeline of the island. They were on it technically 3 years but at least twice it was said they were there for 4 years. The land in early June 2001. In June 2002, that's 1 year. In June 2003, that's 2 years. In June 2004, that's 3 years. They get rescued at the end of 2004. So that's 3 years and 6 months. Almost an even 3yrs,6mos. But that's so tiny and considering all they go through it DOES feel like they were there longer.

The reviewer Kate was right, a 5 star book is one you can't stop thinking about and that's completely true. On The Island is a book you will NOT be able to stop thinking about.

RUN, don't walk to that Click 1 Buy button and PICK UP and BUY this book right now. Right now!

5 stars without a doubt!

106 of 120 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Won over the skeptic in me - 4.5 stars January 23, 2012

By HJ Leonard

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I read this book based on a recommendation from an Amazon forum. Lately, I have been in the habit of bypassing self-pubbed books due to the remarkable inconsistency of quality. Thank goodness I didn't pass this one by.

Spoilers may be included in the following:

Anna is a 30 year-old teacher, hired to tutor 16 year-old T.J., who has recently gone into remission after a long battle with cancer. As T.J.'s family has flown ahead, he and Anna make the trip to the Indonesian island together. Unfortunately, on the last leg of their journey, their plane crashes into the sea, and they wash up onto one of many small islands (think Castaway-the movie).

What follows is a wonderful story about two people thrown together and leaning on each other to survive, and eventually, however unlikely seeming, to fall in love. Actually, falling in love isn't that unlikely for these two, not the way the story is told, 1st person, from both POVs. This allows the reader to get inside Anna and T.J., to see their thought processes and how their relationship evolves.

There are not many books that I'm left thinking about for days after I've finished - usually I read several others and just keep going, but in this case, despite the quantity of books I've read since finishing On the Island, I'm still there, in that book, reliving it in my head. This is a good thing.

On a technical note - the book is extremely well-written, despite being a self-pub, and no glaring plots holes, etc. I was, however, disappointed to find that the author has not yet published anything else. I will now be on the lookout for her next book.

134 of 154 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book September 18, 2011

By Kate

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I chose this book at random while looking for something to start reading before bed. I wound up staying up into the early morning, finishing it in one sitting. I wish all books were this well thought out and developed. It exceeded my expectations. A 4 star book for me is one that I can't put down. A 5 star is when I put it down and I can't stop thinking about it for days afterward. Worth the time. It is fun, dramatic, serious, and sweet but it will make you think about your own life and relationships.