Looking for a treasure hunting story full of twists, turns, and general weirdness? Here's the book.
An amazon summary, "Right before Sadie died, she begged her sister, Ruby, to do the one thing she could never do herself: Find the treasure on Gray Wolf Island.
With just a mysterious treasure map as a guide, Ruby reluctantly allows some friends to join her on the hunt, each of whom is touched by magic: a boy allegedly born to a virgin, a girl who never sleeps, a boy who can foresee his own death, and a boy with deep ties to the island. Each of them is also keeping a secret--something they'll have to reveal in order to reach the treasure.
As the secrets come to light, Ruby will have to decide: Can she make peace with her friends' troubled pasts and continue to trust them? Can she forgive herself for doing the unspeakable? Deep in the wilderness of Gray Wolf Island, Ruby's choices will determine if they make it out with the treasure--or merely with their lives.
From debut author Tracey Neithercott comes a darkly compelling tale of profound friendship, adventure, and finding the strength to tell the truth." AMAZON LINK OF JUSTICE
First and foremost, the story has two narrators. Ruby is the primary narrator, but there is also a narrator called The Boy. Kind of a mystery within a mystery.
Ruby and Sadie are twins. Sadie was the extroverted twin, while Ruby is the introverted twin. As Sadie lies dying, she asks Ruby to promise her that she'll hunt for the treasure in her stead. ...she also asked Ruby for one more thing, she asks Ruby to kill her, to end her suffering in a merciful manner as she lies dying. ...Ruby obliges.
Months later, Ruby is volunteering at a nursing home of sorts, where a feisty older lady (Doris) keeps checking out all the men and encouraging Ruby to go out and live her life. Ruby kind of humors Doris, (who started counting down after she reached 110 for her age, so she's now 104) until she finds a book in the library. In the back of the book, is a written word map to the treasure that people have been hunting for on Gray Wolf Island for hundreds of years. It kind of reminds me of the show The Curse of Oak Island. I digress.
Elliot discovers she's got a map to the treasure, and his family has long been treasure hunters after the treasure on Gray Wolf Island. He convinces Ruby to let him help on her quest, and soon they're joined by two of Elliot's friends, much to Ruby's reluctance. One of them has been dreaming about their death since they were young, and another very handsome, rather smooth operator. They also team up with Doris' granddaughter who never sleeps, to make their way to Gray Wolf Island and to see if they can find the treasure.
Along the way, Ruby starts to get a better understanding of relationships, what her sister had been talking about for so long, and discovers a way to exist in the light as well.
There's also a lot of deep, deep, and dark things going on as well. There's something about the island that brings forth truth, and starts uncovering the mystery about The Boy chapters.
That's enough summary.
It was a really interesting and intricate story. I also really enjoyed the characterization of Ruby, but also all of the side characters. Each character was very well thought out, and it also seems like the island takes on it's own kind of character.
However, there is a twist that happens that I'm really at odds with, and I don't like the implications behind it, and it kind of leaves a sour taste in my mouth. It's the only thing that's actually holding it back from being a recommended book.
Everything else from the village and sense of camaraderie, relationships, and everything was just very good. How the mysteries reveal themselves are all very good too.
...I just can't get over the reveal of the twist. I also don't want to say what it is either, because of the twist element of it.
URGH. Reviewers remorse or something.
Happy reading!
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