LIFE’S FLAVORS 4/28- ALLISON LIBBY-THESING OF THE OAKS BED & BREAKFAST
The Oaks Bed & Breakfast
Wreckage by Emily Bleeker
Lake Union Publishing
305 pages $10.95 (amazon)
4.5 Stars
How do you think you would fare marooned on an island with few resources and strangers, forced to work together to survive? As a man or woman, is one sex better suited to survive over the other? Emily Bleeker writes a fictional novel whose characters face life and death when their small private plane crashes into the ocean.
Bleeker writes a dual point of view novel, with two different time frames from the two main character perspectives. Lillian and Dave are both passengers on a small private airplane transferring from one remote island location to another when tragedy strikes, and the plane is sent into the ocean. Lillian was selected by her mother-in-law, Margaret, who won a dream vacation from the yogurt company Dave works for. 
The surviving passengers question their decisions before the crash and what could have happened to the others in the aftermath if Lillian had stayed in her seat or put away her belongings before moving seats. The immediate death of the flight attendant before hitting the water strikes hard on the two passengers who witnessed her death and the captain of the plane. Her death haunts Lillian and Kent, the plane’s captain, as the surviving passengers make it to an uninhabited island.
The story takes place both in the present time, in the form of a television interview, from Lillian and Dave, of their time on the island. The author did a remarkable job in switching between the two characters and locations. I happened to listen to this book and had no problem following along without the words in front of me. The only question I had was in the many references to who Paul was, in the middle of the story, but soon figured it out, before the reveal. The build up to his reveal could have been done better, to make the story stronger.
The lies Lillian and Dave weave together and the truth they do not share, is what binds this couple together in the end; the fear of the truth and the consequences hurting their loved ones, who remained at home, hoping to be reunited. The protagonists hide behind a false façade, on display for the nation to interpret during the video broadcast.
The passengers tell their agreed-upon tale separately for the last time, while the interviewer hopes to uncover a salacious story and theory she later exposes to Dave, after he has told his story. While the reader knows the truth, the world will never know the full story. Outside of the two survivors only Lillian’s husband knows most of the truth about what happened on the island. Even so, the couple still has secrets they are unwilling to share, with their loved ones and the public.
At only 305 pages this book is a quick read or easy to listen to book. Their rescue and most of the big secrets make this a guiltless pleasure to read. The story moves along at a good pace and does not bore the reader with too many mundane details about life on a deserted island. Their rescue is by complete happenstance, and most of the big secrets end up being anticipatory. That will make you question how you would react in the same circumstances if it were to happen in your life, as the survivor or the loved ones left behind.
Contributed by Allison Libby-Thesing
