Review: Excellent follow-up to On the Island
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 2, 2013
On the Island was one of my favorite reads of 2012 and one of my all-time favorite reads period (I push this book on everyone I know) so I was very excited to read Uncharted, a follow-up novella. My excitement was not unfounded. Uncharted explored the mystery of the human bone remains T.J. and Anna found while they were stranded on one of the remote uncharted islands in the Maldives.If you read On the Island you might remember that T.J. and Anna found the remains of a person in a cave on the island and they dubbed him "Bones." When they were rescued and they mentioned it to the authorities, it was assumed that it was the remains of Owen Sparks, a missing dot-com millionaire whose trail went cold in the Maldives. Imagine T.J. and Anna's surprise when Owen Sparks showed up at their door with his amazing story.Uncharted was a short read (it can easily be read in one sitting if one is so inclined) but very satisfying and so, so good. I loved reading Owen's experiences, which was different from Anna and T.J.'s experience on the island. With them it was mostly about survival and the violent beauty of the island while Owen's (at least during the first few months of his stay) was about finding peace and solitude. It was his island paradise away from his greedy family members and away from the stress of his business. It was getting back to nature and using the skill his dad (who passed away) taught him when he was a young boy. And when Owen got felt the need for human interaction, his seaplane pilot--who he grew very close to--was just a phone call away to take him back to the mainland.It was on one of these trips to the mainland that Owen met Calia Reed and her brother James. He invited them back to the island and just when Owen and Calia start to fall in love and nothing could have been more perfect, a deadly disaster struck and everything came snowballing down--this was also when Owen and T.J. and Anna's story start to intertwine and a single decision made by Owen changed T.J. and Anna's life.Though most was told by Owen, a couple of chapters also switched to T.J. and Anna's perspective and it was great knowing what they were thinking and their reaction as Owen told his story. I fell in love with T.J. and Anna when I read On the Island and I enjoyed revisiting them and seeing them deal with their kids. They also get that final closure with the help of Owen and it was satisfying all around.Initially, the biggest draw for me to reading Uncharted was revisiting Anna and T.J. but I fell in love with Owen too. Uncharted was Owen's story and what a great, romantic story it was! I loved it to bits! If you loved On the Island Uncharted is a MUST-read for you.If you have not read On the Island (Seriously?! What are you waiting for?) read Uncharted** anyway and get a taste of the awesomeness that is a Tracey Garvis Graves book. I liken her stories to potato chips in that they are totally addicting and you can't read just one chapter--you'll want to devour the entire thing no matter how late it is in the night.**Uncharted can be read as a standalone but you'll enjoy it more if On the Island was read previously.Originally posted on Michelle & Leslie's Book Picks book blog.