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.
REVIEW:
This book was recommended to me by @TwiMom101, who has an awesome person and has an amazing site. You can click here to see it.
When I read the description of the book I was a little bit unsure of it. 30-year old female, 17-year old male, and being stranded on an island.........really?!?! But I gave it the benefit of the doubt and read.
Oh I am so glad that I did. It was a wonderful read. At first I felt so bad for T.J. Mainly because he was so young and had such a bad time with the cancer. Then there was Anna and I could relate to her on so many levels. After the plane crashed and they were stranded on the island I could really see what an amazing pair of people they really were.
Their natural instincts took over and they were able to survive, as much as possible. I enjoyed seeing them interact on the island and it made me wonder what I would do in that situation? Mostly, because I am such an "indoor" female that I do not know that I could make it.
Also, I loved that we really see T.J. mature all through out the book. It truly was a transformation. That even includes Anna.
I have to say that I am glad that I read this and would recommend to others to read.
Great review!
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