When thirty-year-old
English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at
his family's summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without
hesitation; a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library
any day. T.J. Callahan has no desire to leave town, not that anyone
asked him. He's almost seventeen and if having cancer wasn't bad enough,
now he has to spend his first summer in remission with his family - and
a stack of overdue assignments - instead of his friends.
Anna
and T.J. are en route to join T.J.'s family in the Maldives when the
pilot of their seaplane suffers a fatal heart attack and crash-lands in
the Indian Ocean. Adrift in shark-infested waters, their life jackets
keep them afloat until they make it to the shore of an uninhabited
island.
Now Anna and T.J. just want to survive and they must work together to obtain water, food, fire, and shelter. Their basic needs might be met but as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.'s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.
Now Anna and T.J. just want to survive and they must work together to obtain water, food, fire, and shelter. Their basic needs might be met but as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.'s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.
T.J.! Though it was fun to channel my inner-boy, it wasn't always easy. I wanted to make sure that Anna and T.J.'s voices were distinct.
Who was the most fun to write?
Also T.J.! It was really fun getting inside his head. Watching him grow and change was also very satisfying.
Do you have a favorite scene from the book that you can share with us?
I love the scene where Anna tells T.J. about the movie Dirty Dancing and teaches him how to do the lift that Baby and Johnny did.
What’s the one thing we have to know about On The Island?
It's a love story, but there's nothing inappropriate about it. T.J. is almost 19 before anything happens romantically.
What inspired you to write On The Island?
I love unconventional romances and desert islands.
Which do you like writing better: Kick ass heroines or quiet heroines?
Quiet heroines who also have inner strength.
What is the last book you couldn’t put down?
The Hunger Games trilogy.
What books are in your tbr pile?
Too many to list! I don't have time to read right now so they're piling up.
What was the book that made you start writing/reading?
Stephen King's The Stand is the first book I remember reading cover to cover and really noticing the writing as well as the story. I was 12 years old and I wanted to grow up to BE Stephen King. This feels quite strange to me now because I don't usually read horror novels. I just think he's a genius.
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Tracey Garvis Graves lives in a suburb of Des Moines, Iowa, with her
husband, two children, and hyper dog Chloe. This is her first novel. She
loves hearing from her fans. (from penguin.com)
