High school can be brutal. It’s even harder when your plane crashes on a school trip and you end up on a deserted island with several classmates. It’s even worse when most of those classmates hate you.

Ellery was on a class trip when the pilot had a heart attack. They manage to land the plane on the water and get to a nearby island. Survival isn’t as easy as they think, and being stuck on a tropical island is far from paradise.

This story pulls you in from page one and doesn’t release it’s grip until the bitter end. It is full of tense moments, action, and all the drama you’d expect from high school girls. One of the other reviews said this book is Lord of the Flies meets Mean Girls and I honestly couldn’t have said it any better. Imagine being stuck on an island with Regina George. That is exactly what Whitney and her cronies are like. Ellery has to find a way to keep her injured teacher and her friends, Dawkes and Sky, alive and safe until they are rescued. But survival is never as easy as it seems.

The story had dark, brutal moments, death and violence. It isn’t for the faint of heart reader. The author really makes you feel for the characters and their plight, all while trying to keep the situation as realistic as possible. Tempers flare, friendships are tested and living to see another day isn’t a guarantee.

This is squarely in the YA category and not for younger readers. Mature content and several trigger warnings are in this book, including on the page death. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea so if violence and bloody moments aren’t your thing, you may want to skip this one.

The pacing is great and it never feels too slow or too rushed. There is enough action to keep the plot moving at a good clip and everything feels plausible. There were some great survival tricks thrown in there that made the main character seem competent and compelling. Ellery is brave and tough but also compassionate and generous. She was a fantastic character to read about.

This was a great book and I definitely recommend it.