Review on Nil

What would you do if you were stuck on an abandoned island? No one knows where you are. You don't have anything, not even any clothes. Would you survive? Or would you die? What if there are others on the island that can help you? Maybe it becomes like the Lord of the Flies. Would you kill to survive? Would you do anything to get off the island?
I read... Nil by Lynne Matson



Format: Hardcover/e-book
Pub. Date: March 4th, 2014
Summary:
On the mysterious island of Nil, the rules are set. You have exactly 365 days to escape—or you die.

Seventeen-year-old Charley doesn’t know the rules. She doesn’t even know where she is. The last thing she remembers is blacking out, and when she wakes up, she’s naked in an empty rock field.

Lost and alone, Charley finds no sign of other people until she meets Thad, the gorgeous leader of a clan of teenage refugees. Soon Charley learns that leaving the island is harder than she thought . . . and so is falling in love. With Thad’s time running out, Charley realizes that she has to find a way to beat the clock, and quickly.
My rating: 4 out of 5
My recommendation: Anyone who loves survival and mystery stories!
My review:
My copy was provided by Netgalley.
Charlie knew nothing about the island of Nil. She didn't know magic existed. She didn't know she would disappear with no memory of how she showed up naked on an island that seems to be completely abandoned. For all she knows, she can be the only living being on the island.
But before she dies from starvation, she meets Thad. He is a leader of other teenagers who showed up on the island. Thad created a system to try to get everyone to find a portal to escape. Thad knows how to survive and as Charlie gets closer and closer to him, she knows she wants to survive no matter what. To get off the island, however, is not as easy as it may seem. The portals are scarce, seemingly without any system.
Charlie wants to get off the island, but she also doesn't want to leave Thad. She has to choose between escape and the person she loves.
This book sounded really interesting and I wanted to know why Nil existed, who wanted to send teenagers there, and how everything worked, magic and all. The beginning started off a bit slow, but it really picked up in the middle.
The plot was interesting and unique. You wondered with every page if someone was going to die or if someone would make it off the island. The mystery of what Charlie would choose really made the story come to life.
This book isn't all about romance and love. It's about survival and how to survive in a place where you face death at any time. The island is twisted and nothing is the same. Everything changes, leaving the island very unpredictable. The survival teaches you lessons. Lessons like even with people you hate, you can team up with each other as long as you have a common goal.
The relationships strengthened as everyone grew close together, despite the cultural differences. I really like how the book included people from all over the world instead of just America. It really made Nil seem real, that it chooses teenagers from random, no matter where you are.
What I didn't like was the lack of explanation about how Nil was created and what the deal is with the portals. The explanations given seemed flimsy and didn't satisfy my curiosity. The book ended nice and neat, but I still had questions. I want to know more about this mysterious island that seems to leave more questions than answers.
This book was engrossing and it was awesome. I would definitely love a sequel so I can finally learn more about Nil than the small amount that was provided.