The Island by C.L. Taylor

 

The blurb:

Lost meets The Hunger Games in the thrilling new young adult novel from C.L. Taylor, the Sunday 

Times and million-copy bestselling author.

***

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?

My thoughts:

Although this book is marketed for young adults, it could be enjoyed by a much wider audience.  This retired grandmother certainly found it very enthralling and enjoyable.

Take a group of six sets of parents who have known each other since ante-natal classes and developed the habit of taking an annual holiday together.  Transport them all to an exotic setting, Thailand, where one of the children is to celebrate a birthday with a trip to a remote and uninhabited island off the coast for a week of wilderness living together with their teenaged friends.  

When things go wrong and all six are forced to face their greatest fears, it is hard to know just what is happening and who is behind it.  Cally Taylor has written an engrossing, enthralling and enjoyable thriller which paints a vivid backdrop to challenges which will test the resilience of these young people to the full.  It is a brilliant read which I highly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and HQ for access to an advance readers copy in return for a fair and honest review.