YA THRILLER: No Accident by Laura Bates
I don't normally read much young adult literature, I simply prefer younger fare when it comes to literature for youth. But every once in a while I come across a book that intrigues me enough to pick it up. This book fits in that category.
A plane crash leaves seven teens marooned on a Caribbean island. At first, survival seems to be their primary concern and the teens focus on building shelters, gathering food, and finding water. But it soon becomes clear that something else lies under the surface. Hayley, an investigative reporter want-to-be, decides to try to figure out who is responsible for the incidents that keep happening before someone gets permanently injured or killed. A trigger warning about sexual assault at the beginning of the book gives a big clue toward what's happening, but doesn't give away the who or specifics of the why. I found the book pretty compelling in terms of the tension of survival as well as the tense relationships between the characters. Each character does come across as a unique individual with different experiences, personalities, and motives. I could have done without all the bad language, but it's realistic under the circumstances. I was also a bit disappointed at how easy it was to figure out who the guilty party was and why. In terms of themes, there are a number of important issues brought up by the characters including important questions of consent. I appreciate the importance of the issues brought to the surface in this story. While I would have liked to know more about what happened to the characters at the end, things are resolved to a certain extent although, realistically, there is no happy ending here. I think my favorite part of the book relates to the details of the work the teens did that helped them survive, I found those details fascinating. In terms of content, there is swearing and profanity and sexual content, although not gratuitous or graphic. Recommended for those who enjoy thrillers with something to say about the ways of the world.
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