Clay Lockhart's wife and son die in childbirth on a stormy night. During this storm, Clay's house and the eight hectares of land surrounding it break off from Scottish coast in the wake of his grief. This island becomes legend, as people very occasionally see it, but no one ever goes to the island itself. Twelve-year-old Ellie Mills finds the island herself one night in a storm and Clay sends her back on her way. But time goes by differently on the island and what was a couple of hours for Ellie was weeks back at Ellie's home in Nova Scotia.
Thirty-year-old Ellie hears about a sighting of the island and she goes in search of it. What happens next?
Here's what I learned from this book. If my husband and I were stranded on a floating island in the ocean and we had to somehow survive with what we had in our house and our land, we would die. That's all.
Clay didn't even have a dog or a cat with him! He's all alone for decades. I like my alone time, but wouldn't you go absolutely crazy? Like...batshit?
Some people compare this to Wild Dark Shore, but I think it's better than that (I DNFed WDS). I mean, I bought into the magical element of the wandering island and time slowing. I wanted to read it and find out what would happen to these two fools. I wanted to know if Ellie would ever figure out what was right for her life. I thought the author did a nice job of not making Clay look like a creep since he first met Ellie when she was a tween.
I liked this one. I didn't LOVE it, but I did want to know how things ended up. 3.5/5 stars
Line of note:
Some part of me knows he's too good, too perfect for me - and it makes me wary. Suspicious. Not of him, but of life. Like I've always known I don't deserve him. (page 22)
But we all feel way, right? Asking for a friend.
Thing I looked up:
snell (page 1) - chiefly Scottish, meaning quick or acute (a snell wind or a snell storm)
Hat mention (why hats?):
thick hats (page 205)
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Would you want to be alone on an island by yourself? Without another person, dog, or cat?
I would go crazy and die- I have no survival skills. If I didn't have a cat with me, I'd probably start talking to the trees and pick up a pet rock family. ( shades of Wilson...). I need something to take care of.
ReplyDeleteI also DNF WDS, so maybe I'll try this one. I did just read a few good books; maybe Daggerheart would appeal to you more? Familiar characters, adventure without much gore, some fun.
Sorry, I meant Daggerbound! The two books got mixed up in my head early in the morning.
DeleteOh, I'd absolutely kill myself before the going crazy part. LOL.
DeleteBUT MORE IMPORTANTLY!! I didn't know Swordheart had a sequel!!!!! I need to get on this!!
The wait for the audiobook is 18 weeks, so I'll have forgotten about this exchange when I read it in early 2027! Thanks for the rec.
DeleteLet's see. I would love to be alone on an island for ONE DAY. By nighttime I wouldn't want to be alone on the island anymore. This book sounds pretty good!
ReplyDeleteI mean, a day or two or three could be great. But...any longer than that and I'd lose it. Particularly since it didn't seem like he had a lot of books on the island!
DeleteI just put this book on my holds last week.
ReplyDeleteWhat else is on the island? I think i would be okay on an island. Not sure how long I would survive, though….
He had some sheep at first, to be honest. But then...some gardens. Not much, honestly. I would not last long.
DeleteI would welcome some island time right now.
ReplyDeleteHow have I still not read anything by Ernshaw? This and A History of Wild Places both sound so good, and yet I haven't gotten to either of them! I'm a teeny bit worried that I won't love it though, as I was a HUGE fan of Wild Dark Shore.
On the theme of remote islands, have you read The Lightkeepers by Abby Geni? So good.
I've never read any other Ernshaw. Maybe I should?
DeleteI requested The Lightkeepers from the library!
I could take a day, but not forever. Give me a dog or cat for company, and I could make it much longer. But eventually I think I would need at least one more person!
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, he did eventually get another person on the island, so that did work out for him. And there were sheep at first, too. I don't know if it would be enough for me.
DeleteOK this one goes straight onto my TBR. It sounds like a book for me. Grief, mystery and some magic realism thing going on. Great.
ReplyDeleteI could do some island time. Probably more than a day or a week but in the end life would be tough without any company.
Well, I hope you like it! It does sound like something you'd like.
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