A Map For Wrecked Girls
Author: Jessica Taylor
Publisher: Dial Books
Genre/Themes: YA, Fiction, Contemporary, Mystery
Release Date: August 15th 2017
Page Count: 368
Format: ARC
ISBN: 9780735228115
Author Website | BookDepository | Amazon | Chapters/Indigo
*Disclaimer: An ARC of A Map For Wrecked Girls by Jessica Taylor was provided to me through NetGalley First reads via the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way.
Initial Post Reading Thoughts
First of all, can we talk about this cover? Beautiful. I didn’t really know exactly what I was getting myself into with this story when I entered the Goodreads giveaway, but when I found out that I had won, I went back and looked at what the synopsis for the story was and I was instantly intrigued all over again. A Map For Wrecked Girls is a story about two sisters and their relationship. We go back and forth between the present where Henri & Emma are stranded on an island while on vacation after a mishap with their boat…and a few months into the past that explore a situation that has put a rift in the sisters’ relationship. I ended up really enjoying this story and I’m really glad I decided to enter this giveaway!
Synopsis
Emma had always orbited Henri, her fierce, magnetic queen bee of an older sister, and the two had always been best friends. Until something happened that wrecked them. Then the unthinkable occurs—a watery nightmare off the dazzling coast. The girls wash up on shore, stranded. Their only companion is Alex, a troubled boy agonizing over his own secrets. Trapped in this gorgeous hell, Emma and Alex fall together as Emma and Henri fall catastrophically apart. To find their way home, the sisters must find their way back to each other. But there’s no map for this—or anything. Can they survive the unearthing of the past and the upheaval of the present?
What I Liked
Sisterly relationship. A Map For Wrecked Girls is centred on the relationship between two sisters, Henri & Emma. We know that something has happened to cause a riff in their relationship, but we aren’t sure what exactly that something is. We know that they are stranded on a deserted island together, along with another boy, after a boat they were on malfunctions and basically explodes. There’s not much they can do but try to get along in order to survive. Through flashback, which I’ll talk about later, we catch a glimpse of what their relationship was like before everything started to go downhill. It was really cool to see the contrast between what their relationship once was and how it is now. I have a younger sister and while we’ve had our fair share of arguments, I’m sure we would come together if it meant life or death.
The flashbacks. As mentioned above, A Map For Wrecked Girls contains flashbacks within every other chapter in the story. Through these flashbacks, the mystery of why these two sisters are so angry with each other slowly starts to unravel. I found that this really worked well to slowly reveal what tore these two sisters apart.
Unraveling the mystery. The flashbacks were a great way to unravel the mystery, but the writing was also really well done and greatly paced. A Map For Wrecked Girls is a unique mix of contemporary and mystery and I think both the flashbacks and writing style really helped to unravel the story.
What I Didn’t Like
Weird sisterly relationship? There were moments, especially in the flashbacks, that kind of weirded me out? Henri & Emma were weirdly too close at times. I don’t know if it’s just me, but personally, my sister and I are NOT even remotely that affectionate towards one another. My sister is definitely one of my best friends, but saying things like “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to love anyone like I love you” just kind of really weirded me out if I’m being completely honest.
Alex. It’s not that I didn’t like him, he was an interesting enough character I suppose, but he also kind of felt a little irrelevant? I would have much rather enjoyed this story if it was just about Emma & Henri without a third character mixed in there with them.
Overall, A Map For Wrecked Girls took on a unique look at a sisterly bond and how no matter what, two sisters will always have each other’s backs, especially when it’s a matter of life and death.
About The Author
I adore atmospheric settings, dangerous girls, and characters who sneak out late at night. I live in Northern California, not far from San Francisco, with a law degree I’m not using, one dog, and many teetering towers of books. A Map for Wrecked Girls, a Junior Library Guild Selection, and my first young adult contemporary thriller, will be published August 15, 2017 by Dial Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Penguin.
Thank you for reading!
Big City Bookworm 