REVIEW: The Waves (The Island #2) by Jen Minkman

Title: The Waves
Author: Jen Minkman
Series: The Island #2
Publisher: Jen Minkman
Date of Release: October 4th 2013
Pages: 174
Source: *Received in exchange for an honest review*

The first memory I have of my grandfather is of a moment that we share together.
I’m sitting on his knee looking out over the harbor. Grandpa is smoking a pipe. He points at the horizon. “Look, Walt. Our ships are out there. And one day, another even more beautiful ship will appear at the horizon. A mighty ship to take us all away. And Annabelle will be at the front deck with open arms, inviting us all to join her on board.”
“Why don’t we sail to her ourselves?” I want to know.
“Because she promised she would come,” granddad replies. “And in that promise we trust. It’s only the Unbelievers who think they can do everything themselves. They have no faith in the Goddess.”

Walt lives in Hope Harbor, an island community that has put its trust in salvation from across the sea. The townspeople wait patiently, build their ships to sail out and welcome the Goddess, and piously visit the temple every week. Horror stories to scare their children are told about the Unbelievers on the other side of Tresco. 
But not all is what it seems. Walt has questions that no one can answer, and when his best friend and cousin Yorrick is killed in an accident, he digs deeper to find out the truth about the origins of Hope Harbor’s society… and the secrets of the temple.

Return to the world of The Island and discover what Walt's life was like before and after he met Leia!

This was an interesting side to the first instalment, The Island, allowing us to view the events that led up to their collaboration. The cover highlights the main aspect of the water, pronouncing the fact that they are alone and to fend for themselves; the lighthouse additionally portrays their search for Annabelle.

There are two lives you can life; a Fools or an Unbelievers. The Unbelievers are sent away from their parents at the age of ten, to fend for themselves and gain independence. They are then to marry and move back to the village where they may meet their parents again. However, the Fools side is a mystery to them; living behind the wall their life has been classed as tough and those who cross will never be at one with the Force. But what happens when the lies come crashing down on the Unbelievers? Furthermore, in the second we see the point of view from the Fools who believe in the land across the waters. However, they also believe that those behind the wall, the Unbelievers, have abandoned them all in their wait for Annabelle. However, what happens when their lies and beliefs are revealed making them judge the security and trust in those around them.

I was excited to view the same plot from the view of Walt, he is a strong, independent boy who has seen and experienced a lot making him judge the views that have been forced upon him. He is additionally very curious and holds great power and leadership when revealing the truth about the lies that have been unloaded on them all. Furthermore I enjoyed his friendship with his best friend, how they stuck together through hard times and trusted one another, no matter what happened.

The views of the Fools were interesting, the way they found the Unbelievers life compared to how the Unbelievers found the Fools lives really brought out the separation between the two communities, whether they were together before or not.I did however find some areas of this story dragging, due to the issue that you were reading briefly the same events happening again, it become very dragged out compared to what I was hoping of having a brief beginning and then hoping we would understand more about the events that occurred after.

However, this is a lovely story that highlights the importance of a communities collaboration... I also got the part about Star Wars correct, *happy dance* I had a bit of a giggle when Toby was trying to explain it with Walt being serious.

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