The Island

By C. L. Taylor

Published by HQ

What it’s about?

Welcome to The Island.

Where your worst fears are about to come true…

It was supposed to be the perfect holiday: a week-long trip for six teenage friends on a remote tropical island.

But when their guide dies of a stroke leaving them stranded, the trip of a lifetime turns into a nightmare.

Because someone on the island knows each of the group’s worst fears. And one by one, they’re becoming a reality.

Seven days in paradise. A deadly secret.

Who will make it off the island alive?

What I think:

This YA thriller is pitched as Lost meets the Hunger Games.

Six teenagers are taken for a week long trip on a beautiful, deserted island. They have everything they need for a week of camping and enjoying being back to nature and surviving a sunshine paradise.

But it isn’t long before things go wrong.

Before they even reach the island, the cracks in the group are beginning to show.

Jessie, Danny, Honor, Meg, Milo and Jefferson. Their parents all met years ago at NCT classes so they’ve all grown up together. But as they get older, they have less common. They only meet as a group for annual holidays. If it wasn’t for their parents, this group would have drifted apart a long time ago.

One the first night they share their greatest fears around the campfire. And before long they are happening.

The sudden death of their guide leaves them stranded and scared. As they decide what to do the tangled and frayed friendships are tested to their limits as they no longer know who to trust.

The sinister happenings on the island are really creepy. Trying to work out who was before them kept me guessing. The story is well structured and the changes in pace of events allows the reader to share the rollercoaster of emotions the group experiences as their secrets and fears are revealed.

This is a great YA thriller – lots of terror and teenage angst that readers will be able to relate to and I will definitely be recommending it.

Thank you HQ Stories for my gifted copy and for inviting me to be a part of this tour.

Happy Publication Day