Review - The Island by Jen Minkman @JenMinkman (The Island #1)

The Island

The Island #1

by Jen Minkman

Goodreads blurb:  I walk toward the sea. The endless surface of the water extends to the horizon, whichever way I look.

Our world is small. We are on our own, and we only have ourselves to depend on. We rely on the Force deep within us, as taught to us by our forefathers.

If I were to walk westward from here, I would come across a barrier – the Wall. Behind it, there are Fools. At least, that’s what everyone says.

I have never seen one.

Leia lives on the Island, a world in which children leave their parents to take care of themselves when they are ten years old. Across this Island runs a wall that no one has ever crossed. The Fools living behind it are not amenable to reason – they believe in illusions. That’s what The Book says, the only thing left to the Eastern Islanders by their ancestors.

But when a strange man washes ashore and Leia meets a Fool face to face, her life will never be the same. Is what she and her friends believe about the Island really true?

Or is everyone in their world, in fact, a Fool?

About the Author:  Jen Minkman (1978) was born in Holland, in the town of Alphen aan den Rijn. When she was 19, she moved between The Hague, Salzburg (Austria), Brussels (Belgium) and Cambridge (UK) to complete her studies in intercultural communication. She is currently a teacher of English and Dutch at a secondary school in The Hague, Holland. She tries to read at least 100 books a year (and write a few, too!). She is a published author in her own country, and translates her own books from Dutch into English for self-publication.

In her spare time, she plays the piano, the guitar and the violin. For every novel she writes, she creates a soundtrack.

'I have always been drawn to writing. My first book was a sci-fi novel at the age of eight, which I painstakingly typed out on my dad's typewriter and illustrated myself. Nowadays, I stick to poetry, paranormal romance, chicklit and/or fantasy. In my home country, I am the first-ever published writer of paranormal romance, and I will gradually make my books also available in English (seeing I have to re-write and translate the books myself, this will take some time!).

Connect with Jen:

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My Thoughts - 3 out of 5 Unicorns - I liked it!!!

The cover is ominous looking, but that’s why you want in a dystopian series.  I look at it and think a shark is going to eat her….lol

I picked up this book for free.  This is a novella about  130 pages.  I liked this book, and see the possibilities for it getting better as a series.  This first book for me was a little slow and some part did bore me, but you have to these parts to understand the world.

It has references to Star Wars which I was a little slow on the uptake especially considering her name was Leia.  She is a very strong character, but also very naïve.  You really see her grow throughout the story. Parts of it reminds me of Lord of the Flies where kids rule.  This is the first time I’ve read a book by Jen Minkman, and I’m continuing on with the rest of the trilogy.  I will let you know how it goes :)

I think someone who enjoys Star Wars mixed with the Lord of the Flies will really enjoy reading this book.

Interested in reading???

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