Name: Gray Wolf Island
ISBN: 9781524715328

Tracey Neithercott

Five friends. Five secrets. One chance to find the treasure of a lifetime. Ruby’s sister had one dying wish: that Ruby explore the infamous Gray Wolf Island and find its legendary treasure. But when you take from Gray Wolf Island, the island demands something in return. Along with an eclectic group of friends —each with a mysterious past — Ruby sets off on a dangerous journey. Together, the group must face their own demons and give their secrets to the island in order to reach their goal. For fans of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer comes a compelling thriller with shades of magical realism, romance, and the ultimate test of friendship. “The complex characters are perfectly matched to the moving, magical, mysterious plot. Combine this with hypnotically beautiful prose, and you have a perfect novel.” —April Genevieve Tucholke, author of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea and Wink Poppy Midnight

Gray Wolf Island

For fans of The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavendercomes a compelling story of five friends in search of a legendary treasure. They'll face adventure, supernatural elements, and what it means to trust your friends with the darkest of secrets. Ruby's sister had one dying wish- that Ruby explore the infamous Gray Wolf Island and find the treasure long rumored to be buried there. Ruby sets off to find it, with only a poem, serving as a treasure map, to guide her. She teams up with some local friends-a boy supposedly born of a virgin, a girl who doesn't sleep, a boy who has visions of his own death, and another with a dark family history. Together, they must face their own demons and give their secrets to the island in order to find their treasure. Along the way, they'll learn things about themselves, and each other, that they never thought possible. But on an island that demands both truth and death, how far will they go to reach the end?

Paige Green

Rating: 3/5


Genre: YA Mystery


Recommended Age: 15+ (murder, death, and morality)


I received a free copy of this book thanks to KidLitExchange. All opinions are my own.


Right before Sadie died, she begged her sister, Ruby, to do the one thing she could never do herself: Find the treasure on Gray Wolf Island.

With just a mysterious treasure map as a guide, Ruby reluctantly allows some friends to join her on the hunt, each of whom is touched by magic: a boy allegedly born to a virgin, a girl who never sleeps, a boy who can foresee his own death, and a boy with deep ties to the island. Each of them is also keeping a secret--something they'll have to reveal in order to reach the treasure.

As the secrets come to light, Ruby will have to decide: Can she make peace with her friends' troubled pasts and continue to trust them? Can she forgive herself for doing the unspeakable? Deep in the wilderness of Gray Wolf Island, Ruby's choices will determine if they make it out with the treasure--or merely with their lives. - Amazon.com


I have never been one for treasure hunting books. The Goonies? Never watched it. Treasure Island? I have read the book (surprisingly when I was 8!) but did I really enjoy it? No (but I did learn how to curse. That was an exciting time for my mother and me). That being said I thought this would be the book that would break my non-excitement of treasure hunting books, but it didn't. The book was really hard to get through and I basically skimmed the last 150 pages of it. For it's benefit the book is exciting for those who like slow burning mysteries and who enjoy the journey rather than the prize. But for me there were too many dislikes about this book.


I felt that the characters were very flat. They didn't seem to have any depth to them in my opinion. The beginning, which should be the part that sucks you into a book, was horribly slow for me. And the book hinted at magical realism, but I didn't see any. This book focused a lot on Ruby's turmoil over her sister's death and I get she's upset but the amount of times it's brought up and mentioned makes what could have been a fun book about treasure and friendship into a book you read to have a good cry with. 


Verdict: This was definitely not the book I expected it to be and I didn't enjoy the surprise of what I got instead. If you really enjoy contemporaries or slow burning mysteries or books you can cry over, then this book is for you.

Southern Today Gone Tomorrow

Written by Tracey Neithercott, this book follows Ruby as she ventures out of her comfort zone to full fill her sisters dying wish - that she goes on a treasure hunt.

I really liked this book, and I didn't think that I would. If you have ever read A Prayer for Owen Meany, this writing style reminds me of that. And I wonder if one character wasn't inspired by that book.

This book isn't a realism book, this is a bit whimsical in the background of the characters. One girl doesn't sleep. Literally. Ever. 

Kids, don't try to do that. But it works for this book.

There is also death that is dealt with, and it's done in a such a way that I think this would be a great book to analysis as a high school or college novel, but it might be a little tough for the young kids. Middle schoolers could enjoy this, but parents I would recommend reading this with your kids. Scroll to the bottom section underneath the spoilers to see why.

The writing is just beautiful, and the characters have such depth and reflect real life so much. This is a book that shows both the typical teenager, and what makes each person unique. And, I enjoy that all of the girls were a little odd. And I enjoyed the two character story telling. I guess part of the ending, but the other part did startle me. Completely.

Fans of mystery, adventure, growth, and just a good book will enjoy this novel.









*SPOILERS*

Okay, why do I think parents of younger readers should do a little research before reading this book?

How they handle death.

What caught and kept my attention was the fact that the main character does a sympathy kill for her sister who is dying from cancer. In the first chapter.

We pick up a year later and she has faded into the background until she finds the map to treasure. From there the story goes running. We have the three boys, Gabe and Elliot and Charlie, and Anne, the other girl. All with odd backgrounds and all with so much personality.

The other reason you might want to be wary? We already went over the spoilers bit, yeah?

Gabe dies. And it is sudden, and it hurts, yet.... they move on from it really easily. This main character, who for the longest time I thought would get with Ruby, dies. Just, dead.

Still love this book and recommend it to everyone!

Lauren James

Full review on my blog, Storied Adventures/a>

I normally don't like magical realism books but this was done pretty well! I liked the character growth, the mystery, and the writing! This book was actually a lot heavier content than what I was expecting, but good. The ending hurt. I liked it. 

I don't think it's a lot like the Raven Boys except for the fact that her writing style is very similar to Stiefvater's. I thought the stories were different enough from each other. 

It was weird but I liked it!

Gray Wolf Island

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