On the Island

By: Tracey Garvis Graves

Narrated by: Heidi Baker

Length: 7 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

When 30-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 17 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.

©2011 Tracey Garvis-Graves (P)2012 Tracey Garvis-Graves

Horrible Narrator

I listen to audiobooks while I’m working and usually don’t have to focus too much on getting a feel for the story. I rely on the Narrator to tell the difference on who is talking but Heidi Baker was awful. She talked too fast, I couldn’t tell which characters POV. I’m so disappointed that I had to put this away, maybe I’ll try it again on paperback.

Good Story. Bad Narration.

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I would change the Narrator. She didn't differentiate the characters enough that you know who is talking and she spoke way too fast.

What would have made this romance irresistible?

She didn't pause at appropriate times and it was hard to tell which character was speaking. She needed to do a pitch or voice change for each character. She also read too fast.

LOVED this book

Would you listen to On the Island again? Why?

no but I would read it again, great story!!

What did you like best about this story?

I fell in love with this story when I read it, so much so that I decided to listen to it when an audio book became available. There is something about having a story read to you that can make the it become more alive. I must say that I enjoyed reading it better than listening to it because of the narration. This is an awesome book but the narration needed work...

What didn’t you like about Heidi Baker’s performance?

My biggest complaint is the narrator spoke TOOO FAST!!!!!!! I tried to slow it down, but the 0.5 speed made it too slow. She had a pleasant voice, but I enjoyed reading this book much better than I enjoyed listening to it.

Voice too happy

I read this book awhile ago and loved it. I decided to listen to the audible version. I have to say that my reading and the spoken version were totally different. I really enjoyed the story but the narrator's voice was extremely irritating. Her voice was too happy in situations where it should have been more serious. Maybe that is my idea. I am not sure if it is a good idea to read a book and then listen to some else's version of how they vision the story.

Happy fantasy

The story was enjoyable. Although the good luck of the characters was a bit unbelievable at times, this happy story was exactly what I was looking for. There were a lot of details about living on the island, but this is no 'Castaway'- this story is very much a romance.

The narration leaves a lot to be desired. The narration is way too fast, although I did get used to it after the first hour. The story switches from the male character's point of view to the female's with each chapter, but the narrator stays the same and it is sometimes difficult to tell which is which.

Overall, a good beach read that I am glad I purchased, as long as I still have another credit remaining for the month.

Awful narrator. This book deserves better.

Awful narrator. This book deserves better. The premise of the story is good. I felt like the writing wasn’t smooth but the narration was the worst!

Should have been better.

The narrator cannot do different character voices, so this would have been way better either read by someone else, or by a male/female combination. The narrator it pretty monotone, and reads very quickly and rambles on without putting the right pauses in her speech. She can't/won't do different voices, so many times it is hard to tell who is talking. The story itself could have been better, if it had more detail in the snapshots of their life over a period of 8-9 years. Things seemed to be rushed through or skipped over. It could have been a little more "romantically intense" too.

Great Read!

I downloaded this book on my Kindle and just wanted to hear it on audio. It was just as good as the text. The narrator was good and she helped me see the story again with her narration. If you are looking for a good story with a wondeful ending- pick up this book. Both characters were very believable and likeable. This is a keeper!

LOVED it could not stop listening!!!

Where does On the Island rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best ever honestly.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Both Anna and T.J. can't decide between them.

Which character – as performed by Heidi Baker – was your favorite?

Again she did a fabulous job on all the characters. LOVED it. Hope to hear more books narrated by her she is great!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Yes I couldn't stop listening and then didn't want it to end.

Any additional comments?

I had been eyeing this one for sometime as I have always loved the stranded on a deserted island scenario. Throw in romance with the stranded people and I’m so there! But I kept putting this one off and the reason I waited for so long was the pretty big age difference between the two main characters. Anna is 30 when the book starts and T.J. is 16 but I was so totally wrong in waiting and thinking it might be a bit icky with that big a difference in the two’s ages. And the fact that she was his summer school teacher…it just brought up a kind of eww not a forbidden love story about a teacher falling for a student. And "if that was my son I would want to snatch the woman bald headed if she so much as touched him" thought. BUT I hasten to say I was COMPLETELY wrong in my hesitancy and my assumptions about this wonderful novel. So please do NOT make my mistake and let that keep you from reading this one. I’m sorry I waited so long because I absolutely LOVED it! It's actually now on my favorite's shelf!

There are very few books that I have picked up and truly could NOT stop reading… (and in this case listening too) but that is exactly what happened to me with this one. It completely grabbed hold of me and I could not put it down until I found out what happened next!!! I had work and housework that was beckoning me and other things I needed to be doing (shamefaced blush here) but I could not pry myself away from this one. I had to literally make myself go do what I needed to do and then I would rush back to see what happened next to Anna and T.J.

Tracey Garvis Graves has penned a story that is so rich in depth, texture, action, and love that it just immerses you and you don’t want to leave the story for a minute!


I won’t go into huge detail because I don't want to spoil anything for anyone and you can get a good idea of what the book is roughly about just from the blurb-but it’s so much more than that! This is thrilling action packed tale of what two people can endure and go through to survive and the close bond that forms between people when they go through such hardship, tragedy, and isolation together.

Anna indeed starts out in the beginning as the "adult and teacher/authority figure role" when they first wash up on the island. But those roles quickly start to blur as they both have to work together to find water, food, make a shelter and survive the harsh elements, storms, the danger of predators, and just the sheer loneliness and boredom that people who are stranded on an island with hardly anything would have to do.

The two literally have only each other and they grow very close through the shared hardships, trials, and long hours alone together that they share. They are not rescued right away but spend years together alone on the island. Both of them wonder if they will ever be found or if this is where they will spend the rest of their lives.

As with any situation like this it causes T.J. to quickly grow up far beyond his years and shoulder responsibilities that mature him very quickly. However in my opinion because of his fight with cancer before he went into remission he was already well above the maturity that most teenagers are at when they are stranded. But he quickly takes over the role of the provider by fishing, gathering food and water, starting the fire, and so much more so that he and Anna can survive. And in doing so he becomes a man much faster than he ever would have in any normal situation.

They spend years together on the island and they are both lonely and have only one another for companionship. But it's easy to see that these two would have been very good friends and gotten along great even if they weren’t stranded together. They just click. After a while T.J. and Anna start to see one another in a different light not just as a student and teacher, not just as two lonely people stuck together, but as a man and a woman that get along well together and genuinely care for one another.

The love that grows between the two is both moving and touching. Nothing untoward happens between them until much later…after they have bonded though mutual trust and care that is built through the long trials they have faced together (and again this all happens over several years so it’s not like they were just bored and decided to make out. It isn’t that way at all.) Their age difference when they do finally get together does still bother Anna. She worries about what others would think if they were to be rescued and how it would affect both T.J and herself. But it does not bother T.J. that much at all. He doesn’t see Anna as his teacher or years older than himself, he sees her as the beautiful woman that he has grown to love and who has helped him survive some of the hardest times of his life.

Will they ever be rescued? Or will they spend forever on the Island? And either way can the love that they have found last?

This one truly does have it all! There are many, many twists and turns and surprises along the way and you won’t be able to tear yourself away!

Again I am so sorry that I waited so long before I read this one. I absolutely loved it and truly hated to see it end. Get this one and enjoy it! Because if you give it half a chance I know you will!

The narrator is Heidi Baker and she does a spectacular job. Her narration to me actually added to the story and made it even more realistic and heartfelt, as you can actually hear the emotions of the characters through her voice. She really is a talented performer and I would love to hear more books read by her! She is one of the best narrators I have ever heard. So if you like audio books I HIGHLY recommend her rendition of this one it was fabulous!

Good easy reading

Where does On the Island rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It was the first audio book and i did enjoyed it.

What about Heidi Baker’s performance did you like?

Heidi's voice was easy to listen to.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When they finally struck up a romance.