At this point I don't remember what prompted me to read this. I think it got a favorable review somewhere and I was looking for books to read during BHM. As for the story itself, there were things I liked and things I didn't. I wished the author had given Covey a better explanation for having to stay hidden/away from the island for so long than just "local thugs." I wish the author had identified the island, but I can understand why she wouldn't have wanted to. I wish someone in any of the reviews I read before starting this had mentioned its written in third person present POV, which was so distracting in the first couple of chapters I thought I wouldn't be able to continue (I noticed my brain eventually made everything past tense anyway).

Other people here have complained about the author trying to pack too many social issues into the plot, which I sort of agree with, but didn't really bother me while I was reading. I didn't really care about the mapping the ocean floor stuff, but I just skimmed that. I felt like the author was aspiring to write "literature" but this is definitely just fiction. I don't think I would read something else by her unless the plot/subject really captured my interest.