Review: Expertly crafted follow-up to On The Island
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 12, 2013
Uncharted is a prequel to On The Island--a novella that answers most of the questions that fans had after reading Tracey Garvis-Graves' fantastic debut novel.  We meet Owen Sparks who was a voluntary resident of the island before Anna & TJ were forced to make it their home.  Owen is disillusioned with business, family, and life all-around, so he decides to get away from everything (literally) by setting up camp on an uninhabited island in the Maldives while he decides what he really wants to be "when he grows up."The book covers approximately 15 months from 2000 to 2001, and a small bit of time in current day.  We learn how their came to be a little shack on the island, housing a guitar and toolbox, how Owen met and got to know Calia, a young woman who made him feel alive and want to be a part of the world-at-large once more, and whose remains were tucked away in the little cave that nobody wanted to go into.  But most importantly, we learn how Owens' choices had a significant affect on Anna & TJ, two people he never knew existed and didn't actually meet until years after they all left the island.I enjoyed this read.  I thought it was well-written and moved quickly.  I just can't say that I enjoyed it nearly as much as On The Island.  How could I when TJ & Anna's story was so much more harrowing and intense?  The good news is that we get to visit TJ & Anna again when the very likeable Owen goes to visit them to share his story.  The bad news is that we STILL don't find out why there was no emergency signalling equipment in Captain Mick Forrester's plane!The best news, though, is that Tracey Garvis-Graves gave us an HEA.  Probably because she wanted to sooth our tummies after the sucker-punch of tragedy she managed to lay on us 3/4 into the story.  No spoilers here, but I was really really bummed to read it.  I needed that HEA in order to forgive Tracey for the horrible circumstances she managed to weave into the narrative in just a few pages.  (It is a novella, after all.)Overall, a worthy companion to On The Island.