Natasha Preston has written quite a few YA books in the past several years and The Island is her most recent hot release. Reading the synopsis of this book, I was intrigued–a sneak peek weekend at a theme park on its own private island where a murderer is on the loose sounded like something I might be able to get into, even if it wasn’t the most believable plot.

And so, I began reading about a group of influencers who have been invited to experience the amusement park on Jagged Island, hosted by the mastermind behind the island himself, Malcolm. Malcolm struck me as part hermit part evil genius, which could be way off the mark but that’s how I imagined him. He’s not around a whole lot throughout the book which I found odd, but maybe that was part of his persona.

We get to know each of the characters just a little bit; the protagonist, Paisley, being the one that is focused on the most. Paisley is a true crime junkie and this weekend is right up her alley. Until it all gets to be too real and she starts to regret her decision to visit the island. She finds murder fascinating from afar, but she has no desire to possibly witness it herself.

The storyline hooked me from the beginning, but then major things started happening in rapid succession and it all seemed very sudden. Major things as in people start going missing and then showing up dead. Although I was hoping that there would be a bit more to the story than shock and awe, the rest of the book was a bit predictable at times with only a few twists here and there. All in all, this was an entertaining book that just fell a bit short for me, and I was left wishing there was more to it. 

Review of a Digital Advance Reader’s Copy from Random House Children’s Books

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: 41 religious exclamations; 48 mild obscenities; 2 religious profanities; 1 derogatory name; 9 scatological words; 23 anatomical terms.

Violence/Gore: A minor talks about being interested in true crime/murder; a mention is made of a murder that occurred at an amusement park; a reference is made to a movie scene where a dead woman is found in the bathtub; several people refer to a place as being haunted; conversation is had about a woman and her daughter being murdered and whether or not the bodies and the killer were ever found; a minor goes missing on the island and his peers worry that he might be dead; a brief scene occurs where two minors find a body, the body is mentioned to be dangling out of a food cart and they see a long gash in his chest and some blood; a boy tells a story about a fight he got into in the past that got physical; a brief scene occurs where another dead body is mentioned to be found, a knife is described to be sticking out of the chest and lots of blood is mentioned to be seen; an extended scene occurs where two minors are chased by a masked figure who they assume is murdering people, several pages detail how the two dart around and hide, with several close calls, the two eventually get separated and the masked figure follows the protagonist and apprehends her briefly though she manages to steal one of his knives and get away; a minor is mentioned to be injured with a bloody gash on his head; a brief scene occurs where minors witness a person being stabbed to death, murderer stabbing victim multiple times; a brief scene occurs where the protagonist finds another dead body, this one is mentioned to have throat slashed and a halo of blood around the head; a group of minors is chased onto a jetty by the murderer and they are forced to be caught or jump into the choppy water; a brief scene occurs where the protagonist is struggling to stay above water and doesn’t think she will make it; a mention is made of how one of the characters had to watch someone bleed out and die; a brief scene occurs where the group makes the decision to set something on fire causing an explosion and property damage, minor injuries; a minor is mentioned to be in shock after the explosion and have a shard of glass stuck in her neck; minor is mentioned to be apprehended and killed by the murderer soon after; a character recalls how they held their friend as they died; the character stabs another with a knife in a brief scene, mentioning her surprise at how easy it was to stab them; a brief scene occurs where a rescue boat is letting the victims on to take them to safety when one of them is shoved into the water by someone.

Sex/Nudity: A minor boy and girl are mentioned to make out; a boy is referred to as hot; minors are mentioned to flirt; minors are seen kissing; a male gives a comforting kiss on the forehead to a female.

Mature Subjects Matter:

Murder; crime.

Drug/Alcohol Use:

Alcohol bottles are mentioned to be on display at a bar; group talks about drinking but decides against it; vodka used to start a fire.