Shipwreck Island by S.A. Bodeen

I actually read a ton of books recently and so I have a lot of reviews to write (plus the ones I never wrote in 2013...) but I have decided to review Shipwreck Island by S.A. Bodeen next, for a very important reason. Basically, I want to review this so it is out of my head and I don't have to think about it and get annoyed anymore.

Shipwreck Island is the story of a girl who goes on an unwanted family vacation with her dad, new stepmom and stepbrothers, and gets shipwrecked. In order for this to happen, they board a really sketchy ship that doesn't seem safe at all, and just when things start to get interesting, the book ends. I think this is probably a trilogy, and if so, it makes sense because this feels exactly like the first third of a book instead of a full book. The characters were cute and had some charming moments, but I was just really annoyed by the time I got halfway through and realized I was going to be strung along for a big cliffhanger at the end and not resolved storylines. Even the bits that were supposed to be creative on the island just felt more like sketches than full creations.

That said, I don't read much middle grade and for the appropriately aged reader, this could be a fun but predictable series, but as an adult looking for a brief escape into fantasy, it didn't work. I won't be picking up book 2, but I have heard good things about other books by Bodeen including a shipwrecked YA novel called The Raft that I do want to try out in the future. 

Release Date: July 29th, 2014 Pages: 192  Format: Egalley
Source: Netgalley  Publisher: Feiwel & Friends   Buy It: Book Depository