The Raft by S.A. Bodeen

The Raft by S.A. Bodeen

Release Date: August 21, 2012
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Rated: YA 14+
Format: eGalley
Source: NetGalley
Buy: Amazon • The Book Depository
Goodreads ◆ Website

Robie is an experienced traveler. She’s taken the flight from Honolulu to the Midway Atoll, a group of Pacific islands where her parents live, many times. When she has to get to Midway in a hurry after a visit with her aunt in Hawaii, she gets on the next cargo flight at the last minute. She knows the pilot, but on this flight, there’s a new co-pilot named Max. All systems are go until a storm hits during the flight. The only passenger, Robie doesn’t panic until the engine suddenly cuts out and Max shouts at her to put on a life jacket. They are over miles of Pacific Ocean. She sees Max struggle with a raft.

And then . . . she’s in the water. Fighting for her life. Max pulls her onto the raft, and that’s when the real terror begins. They have no water. Their only food is a bag of Skittles. There are sharks. There is an island. But there’s no sign of help on the way.

Wow. There is no way now I'm thinking that Hawaii is just a tropical getaway. The Raft just blew my mind. Sure, there were a few things that I didn't like about it, but it was still one 
hell of a ride. Being a fan of survival stories, I was certainly taken away by this book– I finished it in one sitting. It's a pretty short book, but contains so much for a short period of time.

This book has two main characters, Robie and Max. Robie was a very strong-willed character, and I liked that about her. She was determined to survive, and I love how knowledgeable about the Hawaii islands she was. It was definitely interesting to learn more about the marine and island life there. Her descriptions are amazing and I just thought that her character suited this book very well. She may have been a bit demanding at some parts, a tad bit annoying, but I like the way she thinks!
Max was a bit spacey, being knocked out when the plane crashes and waking up every now and then. There's a reason for this, but I won't give it away... you'll just have to read it!

I love it when books put something in the book towards the end which completely flips the story over and works with the plot. Something Shutter Island-esque. The Raft definitely had this moment (where I went completely mind-blown). It's a definite jaw-dropping moment, and when it happens, you'll go, "Oh! It totally makes sense now!".
The only real problem I had about this book (aside from minor problems with Robie) was the writing style. The writing tended to describe everything that Robie was doing from the beginning of the book to the end. Like, while stuck on the raft, she'd drink water, eat skittles, sleep, dream, watch Max, etc. It was pretty repetitive, and it annoyed me a little. The sentence structure was also slightly repetitive with point-blank, plain sentences. I mean, sure, you'd want little dramatic moments along the way, but not every step of the way. It worked when there was a lot of action, but not when, for example, she was out with her aunt at the beginning.

Overall, I liked The Raft! I would love to see this one become a movie, with the plane crash and the survival on the raft to look forward to. S.A. Bodeen has writing a enticing novel– a survival story meets psychological thriller. It gave me the goosebumps, the shivers and made my heart pound. Definitely can't wait to read some more of her books in the future.

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