Scream...but for the social media obsessed.

I really enjoyed the premise of this one--social media influencers from various genres (movies, gaming, mystery podcasts, make up, and fashion) were all invited to one location a soft-opening promotion. Aside from the changes in personality based on whether or not a device was in hand, each character had some interesting personality quirks as well.

The plot did a nice job building suspense and adding some mystery. It felt like-at any point-there could have been one killer...or a band of multiple killers working together. Several failsafes were addressed and the idea of trusting strangers in the midst of a murder spree both leant credibility to the story.

I struggled to actually connect with any of the characters and to imagine the setting--an island large enough for an amusement park but small enough to "trap" everyone that couldn't figure out how to get help....



I'll tell my students about: language, death/gore/violence

**Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for the free ARC prior to publication. All opinions expressed are my own.**

I collect Natasha Preston's books, so when I seen her new one was available, I had to have it. I was not disappointed.

This was a fun book full of twists! I thought it was kind of cool that the author used the “influencer” population to create the the characters as the plot very much resembled these influencer teens and trips we see all over! I always enjoy this authors plots as they have many twists to keep you wanting to read more! Wasn’t my absolute favorite book but would still recommend to a friend!

The first time is read a book by Natasha Preston I was a little nervous because I hear that “adults shouldn’t read YA” but I’m so so glad I didn’t listen. The Island is the most recent 5⭐️ masterpiece by Natasha Preston. It’s not often that any thriller can truly keep me guessing anymore but I found myself bouncing all over when trying to figure out who the antagonist was. By the end I would have sworn that it was this person but I was absolutely surprised by how it ended. I don’t normally tend to stay up too late but I couldn’t sleep until I knew what was going to happen and who would make it out in the end. Thank you so much Natasha for allowing me this privilege. The only, minor, critique is that there are some editorial mistakes which I’m sure have probably already been caught and corrected but I did want to make it known just in case.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for providing me this ARC!

Six young influencers are invited on a trip to Jagged Island - a private, expensive theme park for the elite rich or influential. A jam-packed weekend of fun in this gothic-themed paradise turns into being trapped on an isolated island in the middle of a storm, cut off from civilization and in the midst of a cold-blooded killer. Overall, there were several things that I liked about this book. Our main character, Paisley, was well-equipped to analyze and solve what was happening around her, and everyone in this book was a suspect. Multiple times I thought I knew 100% what was going on, but, boy, was I wrong! The setting of the book perfectly matched the thrilling gruesomeness of the plot and gave me more of what I wanted from Hide by Kiersten White.

Despite this, the major plot twists and “up to your interpretation” ending really left me shaking my head. I had to flip back and forth several times to make sure it was really over. Personal preference aside - this was a great overall read!

Books set in remote places are some of my favorites to read. This book was no exception. The Island is an excellent book for those who like a good, quick thriller. If you liked the first live action Scooby Doo movie, this is the book for you.

I love any book set on an island. I think the setting/location brings so much more to the story! Highly recommend this one.

First of all, thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for the advance copy of The Island. This is the first book in a while that has made me say, "WHAT?!?" and then "That's all??" at the end, and I mean that as pretty high praise. There seems to be a real wave of "influencers lured somewhere only to be killed off one by one" books lately, and I've read several of them. This one stands out for its surprises and will probably be the first one I recommend to students looking for this type of book. There were still a few confusing points and things that seemed totally without cause, but setting that aside, I enjoyed The Island.

This was a great book full is suspense and twists! While I did figure out the guilty party before it was revealed, it was still a great book and I didn’t want to stop reading. The ending was just rude though.

3.5 /5 stars. To be released February 2023.

This book reminded me a lot of another I read earlier this year, Never Coming Home. Both books have a small group of social media "influencers" come visit an attraction before it opens - all for free. In this case, it's an island amusement park created by a billionaire. Six teenagers are invited for an exclusive private weekend to tour and promote the island before it opens to the public. They all arrive, excited and phones at the ready to document the weekend - until someone goes missing the first night.

This is another one of those books that is set to be fast paced and constantly trying to trick the reader into what they think they know. Our main character, Paisley, is a true crime blogger that uses her expertise to try and figure out who the killer is before they succeed is their weekend plan. There are a bunch of characters and at times the scenes did get a little bit confusing about who was saying what, but overall it was a fun read. It was nothing groundbreaking, but makes for a fun whodunit where you probably won't see the twist at the end coming.

3.5 stars

This is the textbook formula teen slasher story: seclude a bunch of coeds, cut communication with the outside, start picking them off one by one. RIP if you are a minority.

Paisley is is one of 6 TikTok influencers invited to promote an exclusive resort on a privately owned island. Her particular platform is true crime, but she is joined by gamers, beauty gurus, and booktokers. All of whom have 500k followers or more. Paisley avoids covering a story she is intimately connected with.

Things that I found extremely odd about the storyline:

* Everyone has an obscene amount of money and Paisley keeps getting drawn into conversations over wealth. At one point a character tells her he didn't grow up with money, and she says how she didn't either, it was her parents who had it. She only just started getting rich recently. Umm...reality check, if you are a 16yo and your parents have money, then you grew up with money. This girls brother complains because she has a brand new car and his was 2 years old when given to him by his parents. Eye roll.

* Everyone is seemingly obsessed with sugar, and caffeine, so tipical teen, but the obsessiveness is odd.

* Almost all the guys are either flirting with or fawning over protagonist Paisley. But she's ambivalent so it's ok. Straining muscles with all the eye rolling.

Despite the oddities mentioned, and the obviousness of the storyline, I do like the textbook slasher formula. I like knowing what to expect, and when the bodies start piling up it's part of the formula. It's messed up to say that's comforting, but it actually is comforting when the story goes as it's supposed to. That being said, if this doesn't have a sequel, the ending may leave one with their jaw open.

While a lot of ladies prefer fluffy romance, this might be what a "pallet cleanser" looks like for me. 😬

Thank you Randomhouse books and Netgalley for the free eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received a complimentary copy of this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I just want to start off by saying, I’m actually giving this read 4.5 stars.

6 influencers get invited to go check out a new amusement park that had been built on an island 20 mins away from the mainland. What could possibly go wrong? No one knows each other, the power goes out, no internet and murder. This is a great page turning thriller that I was happy to read. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and Natasha Preston for allowing me to read this.

Rating: 4 / 5 Stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Natasha Preston for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one really kept me interested from the beginning to the end! I definitely found myself binging it since I was dying to know how it ended. I think it was written beautifully - and hope to see it made into a movie one day.

No blatant spoilers, but some vague references to the ending.

--

A few months ago, I picked up Preston’s “The Fear.” I HATED the ending, and felt the main character's motivation just flawed throughout. Overall, I didn’t love it, I didn’t hate it. But, it just didn’t have the hook that I had when I first read “The Cellar” years ago.

When I received a preview copy of “The Island” my expectations were low, but the premise was intriguing, and because I know my students will automatically be interested in anything by Preston so I decided to give it a try. I feel like things started to go south, almost immediately. In the first few chapters, Preston wasted no time skipping past any sort of character building. The characters are just so stereotypical, and unlikable. There is zero depth to their personalities, and frankly they just feel so… generic. If authors could purchase characters from a big box store, these would be it. And, let’s talk about Paisley. Even her name seems stereotypical. I’m really frustrated in general with Preston’s female protagonists. They just seem so impulsive, unlikable, and frankly, dumb. Paisley herself, is supposed to be this well known True Crime podcaster, but when things start going bad, she immediately puts herself in a situation where she is alone with Reeve, who she barely knows. Am I supposed to believe that someone who researches and talks about True Crime day in and day out, meets this guy and instantly has a crush on him that makes her abandon all her common sense? Even when she finds out he has a potentially violent past, she just accepts what he says. Oh okay. It isn’t until much later in the book, that she even questions his involvement, and even then it’s halfheartedly. AND it isn’t just her connection to Reeve that is bothersome. Her interactions with just about every male are just cringeworthy. It’s like she’s a damsel in distress and any male she comes in contact with has an opportunity to rescue her. She’s constantly leaving the safety of the group to go off alone with different men even with a very limited pool of suspects. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if she was trying to find a killer or a date? To the point, in Chapter 22, when talking to Liam about questioning everyone left in the group she says ““I’m not looking at finding out anyone’s hidden crush” Though I wouldn’t mind knowing his.”” UGH!

The only redeeming factor of the entire novel was that I did not figure out what was going on. Up until the last 25% of the book, I was for sure I had it all figured out. It was going to be a publicity stunt that everyone except a few of the influencers were in on. I’m not sure if I’m happy or sad that I was wrong… So much of the book was filled with meaningless dialog and unmotivated stupid decisions. Ava says it best herself in Chapter 23, “We’ve only just got here, a place where we thought we’d be safest, and now you want to go back out there! You guys are all over the place!” All over the place indeed. And then, when we finally find out who the real killers are, their motivation is so bizarre! I’m going to have to just say they are complete sociopaths because the explanation given in the book just doesn’t add up any other way. Revenge? Bonnie and Clyde Aspirations? WHAT? As fun as trying to wrap my head around that was, at that point of the book I extremely was thankful I was almost to the end, and could put this mess behind me then SPLAT I’m hit in the face with a completely “unnecessary” cliffhanger ending. Ugh! What is the point?

Overall, this was not an enjoyable read for me. Give me some characters worth rooting for, and develop the plot in a way that actually leads to the big reveal and this could have been so good! However, I realize that I am not the target audience for this book and I’m sure my teen readers will flock to this like they do all of Preston’s novels.

The Island by Natasha Preston was a thrilling, kept-me-guessing, then second guessing myself the whole time. Several teenage influencers are invited to an island that has been turned into an amusement park for the mega-rich. Things start to go wrong the first day, with the bodies stacking up very quickly. Up until the very last sentence, this book had my heart pounding.

This book is hard to rate and review.

I love the story, appreciated the characters, and love the premise. I was highly engaged and basically read the book in a day (which I typically do not do). The prose was descriptive and effective in creating vivid imagery. It had good pacing and good twists. It had me guessing throughout most of the book as to who was responsible for the actions taking place. It was both an easy and enjoyable read. I thought it was a solid 4-star book.....and then the ending took at least a full star off the rating.

Given that the book isn't planned to be released until the end of February, perhaps the ending will be changed prior to that. Again...otherwise I really liked the book...but the ending (or lack thereof) really disappointed me.

I do like Natasha Preston's style and will likely seek out/read some of her other books.

First, I had a hard time getting through this book. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t gripping either. I found myself speed reading to get to the end. And the grammatical errors were ridiculous. I think I noted over 40, mainly comma splices. But the worse part was the ending, I hated it, and I feel like I’ve wasted hours of my life. Why read through all of that and have such a bad ending? Not for me!

5 stars! I would have given more if that had been an option. I read this book in two sittings. I literally could not put it down! I kept guessing what was happening and who was responsible but I was wrong! The ending of the story left me shaken up and wanting more! Very good book!

This book was a page turner from beginning to end. Influencers all invited to a abandoned amusement park. They are given tasks everyday and challenges in a super creepy environment. Then, ominous things start to happen…This had me guessing until the end - so well written and so full of twists of turns. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The Island is the first book I’ve read by Natasha Preston. I usually don’t read YA novels, but the outline of the story (and this cover!) really grabbed my attention.

Five teenaged influencers, well-known in the social media community, are asked to visit an island resort which will be opening to the public soon. It is owned by one of the richest people in the world, a man named Malcolm. They will visit the island over a long weekend, explore everything it has to offer, and post on their social media to get people excited about visiting the resort. Little do they know that people will start disappearing and being found dead one by one.

The author does a great job introducing the characters and resort and setting up the situation for the reader. I found that I was looking forward to this thriller the more it went on. It was definitely exciting!

Even though I do not know much about influencers and vlogs / twitter / instagram / etc, I realized that didn’t matter. Preston explained things well and made sure you don’t need this social media background.

There were a few things that I had a hard time adjusting to. Some of the conclusions the characters made were not completely justified, mostly in regards to the murderer. Also, the teenagers acted and spoke like they were in their 20s when they were supposed to be high school students.

The reveal at the end was a good one. I had only guessed some aspects of it, so I liked that. The very end (last few sentences) seemed strange to me. I’m not sure why the author thought it was necessary.

Overall, this was a good mystery and a very easy read.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this book to me for an honest review. All opinions are my own.