Leia and her twin brother Luc have been living on the compound for six years after leaving home at the age of the ten. They must fend for themselves under the harsh ruling of Sol. Yet there are secrets that Sol is hiding from the group and unrest continues to build.

A wall to keep out the Fools, people that know nothing and are dangerous, surrounds the island. As Leia tries to escape the compound with the scared book of her people she accidently runs into a Fool! Suddenly everything Leia believes in comes into questions as she sorts through her world’s true history.

I have to say that I completely disliked the whole novella until I got to the ending.

Honestly, I feel that this piece should have been included in a short story collection. There isn’t enough for it to be a stand-alone book.

The author does have the disclaimer that there are Star Wars influences in the book, and I know what you’re thinking; I felt the same way after the first couple of chapters. It didn’t work for me; I felt it was lazy and that without the references the novella would have been stronger.

That is until I got to the ending. In a matter of pages everything made sense and it all came to together in a cute way. Overall it works, just not on it’s own. I mean there was so much potential that was lost by using material that’s already been crafted.

I think Star Wars fans will find the tale entertaining. (I’m a huge fan of the movies myself.) It is labelled as ‘dystopian’, but it’s not your typical type within the genre. Remember, it’s only 80 pages.

Overall I was annoyed whilst reading the book, but truly the ending saved it.

Netgalley provided this novella in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to the publisher Patchwork Press and to the author Jen Minkman.

The Island is available now! Give it a shot and tell me what you think, but only if you’re up for it!