Reviews with content warning for Death - The Castaways

This is such a captivating and exciting read which gave serious manifest vibes with the missing plane and the secrets of all the passengers on board. I think what made it special was the bond between the two sisters and even after 2 years Erin didn't want to give up hope. Told from the two perspectives set in the present and the past we slowly unravel what happened and even right to the final chapters we believe Lori died. In almost Lord of the Flies it showed how humans can unravel under the pressure and the extremes they go to for survival. Its interesting as with Lori's decision it was selfish to get the life she wanted by keeping the baby after pretty much murdering the father which wasn't even in self defence and allowed her sister to live in torture and believe she was dead.

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jackie_recommends's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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amberinbookland's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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kareenadeah's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

4.5

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hayleyferguson's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective tense medium-paced

3.5

Whilst some areas could have been developed more, this was a good read. The concept of being stranded on an island is nothing new, but watching the quick dehumanisation of the characters “normal rules don’t apply here” and their inability to keep a civil veneer made me want to reflect on how I would deal with such a situation and has definitely made me want to make sure I pack lifetime essentials for the next time I go on a plane! Whilst these characters were slowly deteriorating on the island, they still seemed more alive then Erin who lived a Groundhog Day of dead desire and regret which was a good way to keep us readers hooked and let the tension drop for a few pages.

Spoiler from here:

The ending was a little predictable
and I think that the main characters should have talked with each other a bit more, or even get to see Lori’s new house and way of life but I understand why that would be against Erin’s character.
Overall a good read, there was just some parts that personally would have made this book amazing if it was done a little differently :)

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themegaread's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

2.0

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laureads34's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Excellent book, much better than I expected from reading the blurb. Each chapter keeps you hooked! There are constant twists and turns, I think the author left one part of the plot purposely easy to work out but the rest was completely unpredictable. Upon reflection, the ending was subtly eluded to in such a clever and unsuspected way! My only quarm, leaving this book at 4 stars, is that I found a lot of the descriptions repetitive, IE (not a direct quote) "I drank it in, I stood drinking in the view" etc. Still an excellent book!

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