The Castaways, Jessika Fleck

Netgalley copy in exchange for an honest review. 

The Blurb 

“A page-turning fantastical mystery with heartfelt characters.” -Julie Cross, New York Times bestselling author of Tempest

The Castaway Carnival: fun, mysterious, dangerous.

Renowned for its infamous corn maze…and the kids who go missing in it.

When Olive runs into the maze, she wakes up on an isolated and undetectable island where a decades-long war between two factions of rival teens is in full swing.

Trapped, Olive must slowly attempt to win each of her new comrades’ hearts as Will—their mysterious, stoically quiet, and handsome leader—steals hers.

Olive is only sure about one thing: her troop consists of the good guys, and she’ll do whatever it takes to help them win the war and get back home.

My Thoughts

Aaaaw, another book to put on your list, friends! If you love adventure, The Lord of the Flies, lost kids and romance, YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK, do you hear me? 

I loved it a lot, from the very beginning. And it has to do with the incredible main character, in my opinion. Olive is strong but she doesn’t know it (yet), she’s very brave and tough, and she needs a million hugs just because. 

In fact, the whole cast of characters was great, and it felt like every single member of the group had a story line and a purpose, which I enjoyed a lot (I loved Will, Tilly and Bug!). But truly they were all loveable in the end (yes, even the baddies). 

The writing was great. Some scenes were truly heartbreaking (and surprisingly hard at times) and it gave to the whole novel a well-crafted intensity. The style was vivid, and so the emotions and the actions felt raw and realistic and the whole plot was very visual: you could truly see what was going on, like reading a movie. 

Some will say that it is a little cliché, especially on the “romance” aspect. Maybe they’re right, but what I want to say is that cliché is good when it’s done that well. 

And I loved it. 

★★★★

Links 

Goodreads
Author's website
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