A Map for Wrecked Girls by Jessica Taylor on August 15, 2017
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We sat at the edge of the ocean—my sister Henri and I—inches apart but not touching at all. We'd been so sure someone would find us by now.
Emma had always orbited Henri, her fierce, magnetic queen bee of an older sister, and the two had always been best friends. Until something happened that wrecked them.
I'd trusted Henri more than I'd trusted myself. Wherever she told me to go, I'd follow.
Then the unthinkable occurs—a watery nightmare off the dazzling coast. The girls wash up on shore, stranded. Their only companion is Alex, a troubled boy agonizing over his own secrets. Trapped in this gorgeous hell, Emma and Alex fall together as Emma and Henri fall catastrophically apart.
For the first time, I was afraid we'd die on this shore.
To find their way home, the sisters must find their way back to each other. But there' s no map for this—or anything. Can they survive the unearthing of the past and the upheaval of the present?
I thought a setting like this was going to be boring. Beautiful, yes, but ultimately dull. I was sooo wrong.
I’ll be blunt. I do not have a sister and reading about drama between sisters is the LAST THING I want to do with my precious reading time. But throwing in the male character tipped the boat in favor of reading this novel for me. I know this is an unpopular position, but I am all for love-triangles in my fiction, and I wanted to know if that was how things were going to unfold on this island. It is not clear from the synopsis on the back of the book, and I like that the story blurb teased me with this possibility.
Set off the coast of Puerto Rico, in a tropical paradise, Emma, Alex, and Henri, are forced to face their personal demons. There is more than one romance that develops during the story. One will infuriate you, while the other provides satisfaction in light of the prior.
Henri is Emma’s older, more popular and experienced sister, and Alex is the handsome surfer-dude that Emma and Henri meet while on vacation in Puerto Rico. A boat accident sets up the simmering psychological tension that floats the rest of the novel.
The 16 and 17 year-old sisters have a complicated relationship, and they are navigating their own serious problems during their vacation, long before they end up stranded on an island with Alex. On the island, the sisters are forced to face their problems with themselves and each other while Alex gets caught between their passive-aggressive games.
I had a hard time putting this book down. I stretched it out over two days, but I could have easily finished it in one sitting. The plot moves forward quickly up until the last fifty pages where it seems to stall a little. Emma is our narrator and the story surfs between the present and the past year leading up to where Emma and Henri are now in their relationship.
The three main characters are developed to a satisfactory level, but this story stands out because of the psychological tension and the exploration of how intense the bond between two sisters can be. This book is quoted as being for “fans of Pretty Little Liars“, and if you read my last review about a recent book that was marketed this way, you know that I am leary of that comparison. A Map for Wrecked Girls, however, does not disappoint and adequately lives up to this marketing blurb.
Have you read A Map for Wrecked Girls? I would love to hear what you think in the comments below.
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