Very enjoyable—I flew through it in under two days. I found the social dynamics on the island and Link's attempts to exert control while holding a mutiny at bay fascinating, even when he went mad with power.

M.A. Bennett is an author that I've heard a lot about in recent months and despite not reading S.T.A.G.S I was intrigued to read The Island.

The first part of the book I really did like although there were a few points during some of the bullying scenes when I felt a bit uncomfortable (this is due to past bullying experiences). Despite this I was really into the story and felt like there was a connection between Link and I and I do love when I can relate to a protagonist.

However, come the middle of the book this started to slip. I became annoyed with Link and how he was acting. His behaviour in my opinion was immature. Mind you, I can see why this was the case but it made for pretty uncomfortable reading.

Although there were a few problems I did like how character driven the story was. I am definitely someone who prefers character driven stories over plot driven ones and I felt that each character developed perfectly throughout. There were a few that stood out to me and these were the ones that I did love the most.

The Island was an okay read but I'll admit I was expecting better after all the hype. This hasn't deterred me from reading S.T.A.G.S at some point in the future though.

Thank You Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest and fair review.

I had high expectations for this novel and unfortunately i don't feel like they were met however i did love the ending.

The middle of the novel started to grow tedious for me as being stuck on an island can only do so much for the characters.

However the plot twist and epilogue definitely made up for my original feelings and pushed this to the 3 star for me!

Anyone who liked One Of Us Is Lying and S.T.A.G.S would certainly enjoy this! I would recommend!

I received this book from the publisher via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

I really enjoyed the middle part of this book, where they were beginning to sort things out and before it started getting weird. But I have issues with the start and the end.

The start, mostly because I didn’t feel that Lincoln’s parents would send him to that school in the first place! They’ve done no sports with him at all and send him to a sports centric school? I get that there’s a deal with the university but just didn’t seem right at all. Other than that though, while it was a little long winded, I really liked how well it showed the impact of the bullying.

The end is more complicated. I’ll talk about the middle first - I loved the start on the island. I liked how Lincoln took charge, and I even liked how he was pushing to keep it and how he dealt with every thing initially. I liked how the team pulled together (mostly!) and settled into island life.

I’m not going to spoil anything, but it’s hard to talk about the end without doing so! I saw part of the twist. I didn’t see the main bit, though wasn’t that surprised by it. But I sort of liked how far things all went, even if I was busy being creeped out by it all. The main issue I had was with basically everything post twist. I would NOT have been okay with that reveal.

Also the epilogue was definitely ott for me. Unnecessary!

The other thing I want to mention is that, for a British author, there were definitely some moments that weren’t. Not just cause of link either - one of the others says High School at some point which threw me. Oh and also, in year 9, when Link would have started, Seb was already toppers? Ahead of all the other people in the entire school? Seemed unrealistic even if he is the only quarters man in the school. And I know private schools are odd, but the whole system being based on one race time, down to what unrelated clubs you could join? Ugh.

This is a lot of rant for a book I didn’t hate, and I think that’s because I really wanted there to be more to it.

Having been gripped by M. A. Bennett's debut offering 'S.T.A.G.S.' I was excited about getting to read a copy of 'The Island', Both books are from the Teens & Young Adult market, feature prestigious private schools for those with more money than sense, and have thrilling elements and a deceptive darkness to them.

Link is a 16-year old American boy who has relocated to the UK with his parents after they're offered lecturing posts at the University of Oxford. Back in the U.S. he received home schooling so when his parents enrol him at the prestigious local private school Osney, he is more than a little anxious. When he turns out to be the slowest runner in an activity designed to determine school order, one of the strange traditions at the school, he immediately attracts the attention of the bullies. So when he is offered the chance to go on a summer school trip, voluntarily spending extra time with people who either mistreat or ignore him is certainly not something Link wants to subject himself to. But his parents only agree to let him leave Osney if he goes on the trip and he decides it is worth enduring to be able to leave them all behind for good later. Of course, the plane crashes and they find themselves stranded on an island (à la 'Lost') and somewhat predictably the dynamic shifts considerably. Link may not be an athlete but one thing he is is well read and is the only one who knows the things needed to survive on a desert island such as how to build a fire, how to find food and how to create shelter. What actually is sporting prowess going to achieve in your fight for survival on a desert island with noone but your peers?

This book took me back to my school days and a time when I endured a lot. Not only was I diagnosed with two debilitating illnesses at age fifteen, I was going through some pretty horrible bullying too. Don't get me wrong, there were a lot of other people who endured far worse but I wanted to highlight that I understand the narrative and the harrowing outcomes this behaviour causes at such a young age. I recognise the home schooling too, having also had the same. All of this meant I had an enormous amount of empathy for Link and his situation. The fact that he ends up becoming bigheaded from the power in the end is sad but not really much of a surprise given the lack of control he's had over his life and happiness in the majority of this novel. We learn a lot of important messages from the story with the statement 'treat others as you would like to be treat' being a moral message to take away from it. I hope that many young people pick up this book for that very reason, the messages it sends out are certainly crucial ones for a well-rounded, happy and upstanding individual to uphold. Other issues the book explores include misogyny, responsibility, abuse of power, revenge/retribution and desperation - the author does this with tact and in a way that is suitable for a teenage audience.

All in all, Bennett's characterisation was exquisite, she did a great job of making most of the characters detestable and the twist during the concluding pages of the book was satisfying - I certainly hadn't predicted it. If you enjoyed S.T.A.G.S. then this will also strike a chord with you.

Many thanks to Hot Key Books for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Another great, dark read from M A Bennett. I think STAGS is still probably my favourite, but some excellent moments of dry humour and another fun, dark thrill ride into the human psyche.

This book was amazing, even though I hated almost every single one of the characters. As with STAGS, this is a novel full of privilege teenagers who treat each other in the most hideous ways. Link starts off as pretty much the slave of the school, forced to do everything his classmates tell him to do. So when he ends up with them on the island and is the only one able to make fire... Well shall we just say he takes full advantage.

The thing is, as much as I grew to hate Link throughout the book, it was still exciting to see what he was going to do next. It was like watching a disaster movie, you want to see just how bad it can get.

A lot of the plot twists, I saw coming, but that didn't put me off reading further the way that it sometimes can. It just made me look forward to when the character discovered what I'd guessed.

As with STAGs, this is a great book, but be prepared to see some awful sides of humanity

After loving Bennett's first book, I was so excited to hear she was bringing out a second and over the moon when I won a pre-pub copy. YA mystery is my favourite genre to read and I'm a sucker for any story that involves a plane crash.

This novel was so well-written, with so many clever hints and clues scattered throughout but not so many that the average reader will figure it out. I absolutely loved this unique take on the stranded on a island tale, which was masterfully written and left me wishing I had another hundred pages to go. The first hundred or so we're a little slow but set up the characters and relationships. I loved how Link wasn't made to be a loveable character but a realistic one, and this story was a triumph.

The Island follows Link, a newcomer to a prestigious American school, as he’s thrown into a world of traditions, bullies and rankings. Forced on a summer school trip with the worst of his tormentors, his life is thrown into turmoil as rivalries and alliances come to a head on a deserted island, where only the fittest and smartest survive.

I was drawn to this as it looked like a good summer novel, and overall I found it was easy to read, written well, and kept me interested enough to want to know how it ended. It’s like a YA version of Survivor and Lord of the Flies which made for an interesting world that’s a little bit different from the average contemporary YA. However, aside from the descriptive settings I found this isn’t really developed well. It’s character driven - which I found to be at the detriment of the plot and pace as it spends too much time setting up backstories rather than telling the actual story.

I also found the plot ‘twists’ rather obvious, and I worked them out quite early on - meaning nothing came as a surprise or shocked me during the course of the story. If there had been some kind of mystery or set up that I wasn’t expecting I think this would have propelled my enjoyment of this a bit more. I felt I was constantly anticipating a twist that I knew was coming rather than having the carpet swept out from under me - which is what I wanted.

I also found all of the main characters deeply unlikeable with no redeeming features. Link in particular is misogynistic with little emotional depth. Despite being bullied himself, he shows little sympathy for others and seems to take an almost pride in being horrible to his peers. There’s no emotional connection, and with this lack of sympathy, this made me not care about what happened to any of the characters.

The biggest let down for me was the far fetched epilogue that didn’t fit with the rest of the novel. It completely changed the outlook and tone of the whole novel, and ruined whatever redeeming features I might have felt towards it. I found it essentially unnecessary and unrealistic in terms of character development.

This had the promise of an easy summer read with a hint of mystery, but fell a little flat in character development and pace.

I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC for this book. I really felt for Link throughout this book, the bullying he had to endure for three years at Osney is horrible, but unfortunately this is something that happens to so many kids. As much as a school might say "we do not tolerate bullying and take this very seriously" it's not often taken seriously, which I've learnt from my own experiences.

So on the Island Ralph and Flora actually started to grow on me, I begun to dislike Gil more, and with Seb I felt that he was getting off lightly and didn't deserve for Link to be as nice as he was - I don't think I would have been as rational as Link if I were in his shoes. I think the best character development was definitely Link, he went from being this shy, bullied kid to the bully and then Flora gave him the wake up call he needed and they finally managed to work together as a team.

I don't want to give too much away but the plot twist near the end was my favourite part. Thinking back on it now I'm shocked with myself for not seeing it sooner but I'm quite glad I didn't because the story had me gripped until the end.

Really enjoyed this 'how could 'Lord of the Flies' happen now?' extended thought experiment. If I were teaching LotF again, would definitely recommend to interested/higher ability students as a great side-project (only not mid- to lower-ability during GCSE teaching to avoid confusion in answers - would be good to discuss afterwards), but would rec as an engaging read anyway (and - heresy of heresies, expect most contemporary teens would enjoy it more).

I found the protag Link engaging, if not always likable - but definitely easy to understand/relate to. The other kids were exactly as enraging as they were supposed to be and I enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot. I know that some GR reviewers have expressed frustration with the balance between the 'before' of Link's school life and the island experience, feeling that there was too much of the school (since you know they're going to end up on the island), but I felt it was appropriately balanced for pace and tension and gave me the info and character development I needed for everything to work. I also really liked the organising conceit of Desert Island Discs. All in all, a good follow-up to Stags with linked themes of school bullying and how school hierarchies work and definitely recommended.

I went into this pretty blind. At first I was interested but once I stopped at around 25% to go eat I found I struggled to get back into it.
Majority of the book felt slow and the only thing we really saw was Link become more unlikable.
The ending sadly didn't make up for the rest of the book. The epilogue is ridiculous.
Link, the main character is so unlikable. The type of person I would avoid in real life. The fact he made the girls dress in the skirt for him, starved them if they didn't do what he wanted and mocked them disgusted me. He felt so entitled and like he can treat them this way because he was bullied for years. Wrong type of message to send.
The other characters felt very stereotypical as well.

I went into this not knowing what to expect. It was a bit like The Breakfast Club mixed with Lord of the Flies. I liked the idea, but to be honest I was more than frustrated with how the book turned out. It wasn’t the ending I was expecting, and it definitely threw me for a loop. I still don’t know how to feel about it, but I don’t think it was for me!

5out of 5!!! I love the film Castaway and the TV show lost, so I loved the premise to this book!! It got me thinking how I'd be if I'd crash landed on a desert island.
I didn't like how Link acted considering he'd been bullied, he should've known what it was like, I felt he was just as bad as them...however I had to backtrack my thoughts as soon as this issue was resolved, I don't want to spoil it but I think it's clever how "the breakfast club" (teens from each clique/group) acted once stranded on the island and it produced some interesting results!!! Brilliantly paced and a refreshingly good plot.

Having previously read STAGS, I was keen to pick this up but was initially worried that the plot may be too similar to the authors first book.

However, this book quickly established itself as being not only vastly different from its predecessor, but to be a clever, gripping novel which explores morals, friendships, and power.

I would recommend this to anyone and am eagerly awaiting the authors next work

When heavily bullied Link decides he wants to drop out of school, his parents want him to go to a camp first. He agrees, but he could never have imagined how life changing it would be.

Having read S.T.A.G.S. last year, I had high hopes for The Island. However, those hopes had no idea how brilliant this book would really be. Like with S.T.A.G.S. , the author has produced an unputdownable novel that had me hooked from the start. Just 30% in, I knew this would recieve the highest of ratings from me.

So where do I start? From the start, I felt a sense of dread. This feeling stayed with me for a long time and I loved it. We got some well thought out character backstory which I whizzed through and figured it was leading to something bad.

Lincoln thinks he's the sole survivor of a plane crash, he has the whole island to himself. Finally, something that's just his! But soon enough, the Jock, the Cheerleader, the Prodigy, the Emo and the Nerd are all stranded together. What could possibly go wrong?

Self entitlement, a big ego, greed, several years of built up anger, perhaps? And as you can guess, these aren't the best things to be stuck with in any place. Lincoln goes rather mad, and my thriller loving mind enjoyed it. I was so repulsed by his actions but I loved seeing how he dealt with situations with his twisted mind.

I'd have loved to know a bit more about the rest of the characters, especially Flora. The focus wasn't on them and I'm glad about that, but if the author fancies writing a spin off about those characters' lives I would be the first to buy it.

I loved The Island and I can't wait to see what the author cooks up next. Thank you to Hot Key Books via Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

There was more to this book than I expected.I liked the sound of it when I requested it but even though I am not in the intended audience far from being a young adult I didn't feel that I was reading a book that wasn't aimed at me.I thought it was a well written and a very interesting and original take on a coming of age story.I am not going to give anything away as I wouldn't want to spoil the read for others, all I can say is I didn't know what to expect.I did work out some things but really had no clue how it was going to pan out.I thought it was a great story with well drawn characters and with plenty of surprises .I looked forward to my time reading this book over 3 nights and haven't a clue what I want to read now as I am still thinking of this story.I will be looking out for more books by this author she has an original voice and spins a good tale.Thanks to netgalley and the Publisher for an ARC.

A disparate group stranded on a desert island: sure, it's a familiar scenario but who cares when it's this entertaining?! Thoroughly enjoyable with some moral questions to ponder too.. it's the perfect beach read, I loved it!

"My transformation was complete. Humbled Edmond Dantes had become the Count of Monte Cristo"

* * * 
3 / 5

I think I might have actually liked this one better than S.T.A.G.S! The Island is just as psychological and disturbing as Bennett's first book, but I felt that the writing was better in The Island and the characters more compelling.

"There was clearly no getting off of my own personal, desolate, island"

Link has moved from America to England and is enrolled in an old and prestigious school; he hates it. Osney School is ridiculous and groups its students by how fast they can run around the courtyard. When Link runs the slowest time in years, he becomes the new lowest rung on the social ladder and his life becomes living hell. I really did feel for Link during all this bullying, as he's quite a pitiable figure at the start. Then he strikes a deal with his parents: if he takes part on a summer school trip, he's allowed to transfer out of Osney.

Then the plane crash lands on an island. Link is surrounded by a bunch of characters that are (intentional) stereotypes: we have the jock, the pretty girl, the bully, the emo, and a few more. Having spent all his school year being tormented, Link realises that here, on the island, his knowledge of survival is power. And that's the main message of The Island: power corrupts. It's a classic message, not particularly original, but I thought it was executed really well.

"You don't choose women. We're not chocolate bars"

Link becomes absolutely hate-able. This is on purpose, obviously. He's your "classic nerd": thinks girls hate him, inferiority complex, the whole shebang. The moment he gets a hint of power he's all about taking his revenge and turns into a raging misogynist; it's cleverly done though, as the reader you are fully aware that he is meant to be disliked and that his behaviour is reprehensible. Like in S.T.A.G.S, Bennett's writing is lovely and smooth. 

Whilst clever, The Island does run on a lot of stereotypes and that got a bit boring. The twist at the end was easily guessed and didn't pack much of a punch, Link's parents were "wtf worthy", and the epilogue was cringe-worthy. Despite this, I absolutely tore through The Island and was enthralled by it.

My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of this book

I can’t believe M. A. Bennett wrote this book. Bennett, whose book STAGS delivered such a killer plot twist in the final chapter that I flung the book across the room and stormed angrily to yell at a parent. STAGS, a book that I wrote about in such length in a university paper that the marker was ‘concerned’.
The Island is a misogynistic, slow paced, tiring book that disappointed me. It took me about three weeks to read it, and I only ended up finishing it because I was waiting at a bus stop after work for an hour. The plot is so drawn out that I started to skip pages, and the characters are so disgusting.
Link, the main character, is an awful greedy boy, who thinks that being a nerd makes him oppressed. Oh no, girls don’t fancy him! He reads books! He plays video games! He is every entitled male fan that you hide from at a comic convention. His actions are so gross, making women dress in a slutty skirt for him, starving them, mocking people for their beliefs.
The other characters are stereotypes. While STAGS was so clever with its clichés, The Island is basic and tries to play it off as unique. There is the Asian forced to play an instrument, the closeted gay kid in love with the jock (who never comes out at the end), the drug dealer, the pretty sporty girl who dates the jock, and the jock himself, who is a vile bully. There is also Flora, the emo girl, who is a boring manic pixie dream girl.
This book goes on FOREVER. 40% through the story and we’re still going through the backstory of Link. Just tell the story in chronological order! That’s what made STAGS fun! Stop switching back and forth between the interesting past and the incredibly mundane present. I don’t want to read about Link going for a wander when I could read about disgusting private schools!
Also, the ending. Oh god, the ending. Everything is literally spelt out to us in minute detail, right down to names. I know what just happened Bennett. I read the fucking book. I KNOW WHAT I READ GOD DAMMIT.
And then. And then. AN EPILOGUE WHERE LINK IS PRESIDENT OF THE FUCKING UNITED STATES WHO MARRIED FLORA. FLORA WHO IS THE FIRST TATTOOED FIRST LADY. HOLY SHIT. I’M GOING TO SHOVE MY KINDLE DOWN MY THROAT AND CHOKE ON IT.
Also, desert island disks isn’t even that good. Suck it bitches.
(Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.)