scijessreads

The Island – One thing I’ve managed to do in the process of reading (and adding to an already LONG TBR list that has no end in sight) is to stumble into the world of ARCs. I had originally signed up for a NetGalley account on a lark, never did anything with it, and then went, “let’s see what happens…”

I managed to get approved for a few ARCs that I never thought possible (one of which I am reading right now). Because I need another reason to not read the books I already have. Bury me with a library so I can read into the afterlife. That is my ultimate way to go out at this point. Not that I have plans to do so anytime soon.

However… I digress. It happens. A lot.

One of the NetGalley ARCs I was able to read was “The Island” by Platt and Truant. It ended up not at all being what I thought it would be. In a good way. And in a bittersweet way by the end of it all.

This one was a bit of a mind-bender. In the beginning, it felt like two disparate stories, with no throughline. At about the halfway point, threads started to connect the two tales, and the chaotic, random, unmoored story of Gerd and Atticus began to take on a more recognizable shape. To explain much more than that would give away the story, but what I can say is that this story finds its’ way from allegorical to all-to-human. In the end, it is much more about human emotions and guilt than it seems on the surface. It makes you think about what your mind will do to prevent you from facing your worst fears and disappointments. How you will work and work and work to do anything but feel the actual emotion that needs to come to the surface.

*The book discussed here was provided by NetGalley and the publisher for review. All opinions are my own. I have them, and am not afraid to express them 😉