This is going to be a VERY difficult review to write. Not because I loved this book, and not because I hated this book. I just have nothing to say about this book. It was inconsequential. And I know that's the kiss of death but I don't know what else to say. It was very meh. So meh in fact, that I hardly remember it and I read it a few days ago. But I'll try to do my best. Here we go.So our protagonist, Robie, lives on an island in the Midway Atoll but she visits her aunt in Honolulu a lot. To make a long story short, she takes a red-eye cargo plane home because she is afraid to stay alone at her aunt's condo. There is no real airport on Midway, so taking a cargo plane is quite normal. They forget to write her name on the manifest and the plane goes down. And so does Robie and the other two people on it. And that's when the story begins. Or doesn't begin. Because it was a snoozefest. Look, I'll admit, I haven't read many stories about survival, but even if I had, I'm pretty sure they aren't supposed to be this boring. Robie is stranded at sea. To me, reading this book felt like I was stuck in that raft with her, watching the same waves over and over again. A book about being stranded at sea was much like being stranded at sea. Tiring, dehydrating, and I wanted to be anywhere but where I was. On top of that, there were some brutal animal violence scenes. It got to the point where I had to skip sections because I couldn't handle the death. So don't read it if you can't handle that.This book was just over 200 pages long. At the rate I read, that should have taken me a little over three hours to read. It took me 3 days. Because I kept getting distracted. But to be fair, I didn't hate it. The writing was decent. And I thought Robie's character development was pretty well done. I DO think the author does have talent and I would read another book she wrote. That's why I did not give it one star. It wasn't terrible. It was just very mediocre. I skimmed the last thirty pages because I just didn't care anymore. And yes, I know I am being generous with my stars. I just think there are better books out there to spend your time on.Before I wrap this up, I want to talk about the sharks. Sharks are used in this book as a cheap plot device. Every time something goes wrong, a tiger shark shows up. A shark eats a seal. It eats a signaling device she needs. It eats part of a fish she needs to survive. Look, I know sharks are a reality when you are stranded at sea. But it almost felt like the shark was out to get her. And sharks don't function that way. Not to mention, I really think it got repetitive and some more originality could have been used. Come on. You're a writer. Be more creative than that. That's it. I'm done.
