Author: Elizabeth Fama
Publication: June 9th 2015, Creatspace (First publication, January 1st 2002)
Format: Paperback, 186 pages
Source: from the Author! (Thank you so much, Beth! and Dianne of Oops I Read A Book Again for the tour)
Synopsis:
She swam up for what seemed like an eternity, with her chest so achingly empty it felt as if it had collapsed, seeing only white bubbles in front of her face until she broke the surface.One moment of rashness, and fourteen-year-old Emily Slake finds herself amid hundreds of panicked and drowning people in the dark ocean waters off Sumatra. Miles from shore without a life vest, she resolves to survive. But in facing the dangers of the ocean, the desperation of her fellow survivors, and her own growing exhaustion, Emily must summon wits and endurance she's not sure she has.Striking out on her own, Emily encounters Isman, a frightened young Muslim boy, floating in a life vest. Together they swim for their lives, relying on Emily's physical strength and Isman's quiet faith.Based on a true story, Overboard is both a riveting tale of survival and a sensitive portrayal of cross-cultural understanding in a time of crisis.
Misfit Review:
If a book has left me in a rollercoaster of feelings, it would have to be this book. Filled with values and morals, Overboard just threw me off into an abyss of feelings, where I am now dysfunctional because it is just so good.
Overboard tells the story of a fourteen-year old girl, Emily, forced to live in Indonesia because her parents work as volunteer doctors. She does not like being the odd one out among the dark skinned people while her pale white skin and blonde hair gets paraded on by people. She is tired of her parents not understanding her feelings and her frustrations, and when a tragic incident happens in a hospital, Emily then decides to leave and travel to the island of Weh where she is to meet her Uncle Matt. Lo and behold more tragedy strikes and Emily's determination and even her faith is challenged.
This book was a slow read for me at first, even though it is quite short. It just narrates the near-death experience of a girl, swimming for her life but then it gets exciting. Forces of nature come into the picture, making it seem like a difficult conquest. I swear, turning every page, I expected some tragedy to happen, because it seemed inevitable. It made me sad. And when there were times that I almost thought that everything was gonna be alright with the world, dun dun dun, more plot twist. It definitely reminded me of reading and watching The Life of Pi.
My infuriating feelings for this book are totally good, because it is thrilling, without being too boring. Elements of faith and religion also makes its way into the story, introducing the character of Isman. Emily however, was a homerun character for me. Though at the beginning, I found her rather annoying with all her qualms, which were perfectly normal for a 14 year old. I just might be getting old. But her perseverance towards the tragedy and staying alive is admirable and uncanny for someone of such a young age.
Not much can be drawn out from characters throughout this novel, because it is very short and it only focuses on the struggles of that particular situation, however, the descriptions and the way that the scenes were written, left me gripping my book. There was this one moment in the book where I had to completely curse out loud and scream at the book, It's just so good.
Though not entirely YA, it is labeled YA by Cricket Books, but to me it seems to fall in the middle grade category, however, it is as relevant as any book out there right now.
Though not entirely YA, it is labeled YA by Cricket Books, but to me it seems to fall in the middle grade category, however, it is as relevant as any book out there right now.
Elizabeth Fama just delivers. I've read Plus One and you know how much I completely adored and loved that book. I would die for a sequel of that book, you hear. It's that beautiful. You need to read it!
A drawback to my feelings for this book is how the end didn't seem to reassure me, which a lot of books do. And I guess, Elizabeth's books have a way of doing it to me most of the time. I feel like there could've been some rough patches fixed up in terms of the characters. It was open-ended, which is good too, but I expected a bit of a closure.
Overall, Overboard delivers on the emotion, the writing, the wit, the drama, the thrill and everything you need in a book, rolled into one little parcel. It's very good and I truly recommend it!
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About The Author:
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Plus One was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in April, 2014. A 2015 RITA award finalist, Plus One was also a highlighted book in VOYA magazine, and was listed among the "Top 12 Young Adult Books of 2014" in the Huffington Post.
Monstrous Beauty, was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in September, 2012. It won won the 2013 Odyssey Honor Award, and was included on the 2013 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults list and the 2013 YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults list.
My first novel, Overboard (Cricket Books, 2002), was named a 2003 Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association (one of only eleven books selected unanimously by the committee that year). It received the 2002-2003 honor award from the Society of Midland Authors, and it was nominated for five state readers' choice awards (New Hampshire, Texas, Illinois, Utah, and Florida).
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