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

Wonderful book, narration to fast

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This is a wonderful book. The narrator has a pleasant voice, but just reads way to fast.. And when I try to slow it down in the audible app I get a very annoying echo.

Would you be willing to try another one of Heidi Baker’s performances?

Only if she slows down.

Enjoyed it!

Would you listen to On the Island again? Why?

Probably at some point.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

At first I didn't think I would be able to listen to this narrator. She was talking so fast at first, and everything was running together. It really got on my nerves. I don't know if she got better as the book went along or if I just got used to her, but by the end it didn't bother me as much.

Any additional comments?

At first I was unsure of this book because of the age difference of the characters, but it turned out to be okay. Parts of the book are unrealistic, but I read for escapism so that never bothers me as long as it's a good story.

Please NO bad language or sex.

What disappointed you about On the Island?

Swearing and sex takes away from a book for me.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The English language is so vast! Use it!

Have you listened to any of Heidi Baker’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I haven't. I think she did a nice job. There were a few times Heidi read too fast. That's why I gave a lower rating.

What character would you cut from On the Island?

None

Any additional comments?

Other than the above mentioned reasons I would have given the book 5 stars.

Great story, poor narration

I loved this book and zipped right through it in no time, however the narrator had inflections in all the wrong places and did not do either of the characters justice. If I had to do it over again, I'd read this on my Kindle.

thoroughly enjoyed

The only thing that would have made it better is if the narrator could have sounded like a man when TJX was speaking. It was distracting figuring out who was speaking. I will look for more from this author.

Loved the story

The narrater spoke quite fast . After I slowed her speech down the story was really good.

Finished in one sitting

I read mostly non-fiction but occasionally like to mix in some fiction but it'd hard to find anything decent on audible.com. This was a lovely surprise. A beautiful little story with a narrator that fit the story so well.

Narrator’s voice was annoying

Did not like the voice and inflection of the narrator. I did not feel like it matched the story.

Great read!!

I honestly loved this book! I finished it in one day. I was worried at first that the age difference at the beginning of the story would be weird but once the characters aged it was sweet and not at all gross or awkward. The only complaint I have is that I felt that the narrator spoke so fast that it rushed the ending but other than that it was a great read!

Liked the story!

What did you like best about this story?

I could picture the Island and the story vividly in my mind. It kept my interest even driving on the Interstate!

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Heidi Baker?

Not sure but would have picked someone who could distinguish voices of the characters better.

What would have made this romance irresistible?

It was irresistable