Book Review: "The Islanders" By Mary Alice Monroe

An absolutely splendid portrayal of the beauty of friendships, love, and all that nature can provide.

Mary Alice Monroe has created an adventure on Dewees Island with Jake Potter (stuck with Grandma and no internet), Lovie (the smarty pants one), and Macon (that other summer kid) as The Islanders.

They are a group of kids seeking fun in the sun but will soon learn that some lessons never grow old and you can always learn something new.

Never give up is the point regardless of what life throws your way. If you don't try you simply cannot succeed as it's in our failures that we find our inner strengths.

I adored the way this was written in showcasing both good and bad as well as maturity, hope, and comradery.

It begins with Jake finding out that his father was gravely injured in Afghanistan and would sadly lose his leg.

The perseverance to carry on in the face of such adversity was evident throughout this YA novel. It gives glimpses of confidence, cooperation, and courage. It shows us that life is full of knuckle balls and every now and then you catch a fly ball and score in the game.

This nature sanctuary became the home to Jake and his loving grandmother for the time being until his father could recover and come back home.

Let the adventures begin as all kids love the mud. Treasures can always be found when you least expect them.

When the children mess up it's the adults who provide the guidance and sanctions to correct the wronged behavior and actions.

They are penalized to six weeks of community service after the incident with the 'Fiddler Crab' as it became known to them.

This resulted in being placed on the Island Turtle Team at the crack of dawn to rescue turtles and keep them from harms way. Coyotes, dogs, birds, parrots, etc. were all showcased during this segway.

In addition, we uncovered the beauty of this island, its inhabitants, and the animals that called this land their home.

The friendships also expanded into unknown territories with one such example being Lovie having to relocate to Charleston.

All in all I truly fell in love with this one and hope you do as well as it captivated all those memories of being a young kid, not having a care in the world, and just letting go and being present.

Thank you to Mary Alice Monroe, the pub, NetGalley, and Amazon Kindle for this ARC in exchange for this honest review.