OVERBOARD [Book Tour Stop]: Review + Excerpt :)

TITLE: Overboard
AUTHOR/s: Elizabeth Fama
PUBLICATION DATE: 9th of June, 2015
(First published: 1st of January, 2002)AVAILABLE AT: Amazon | Barnes and Noble

To be honest, Overboard isn't in the genres I usually read. However, I decided to explore something out of my comfort zone and join the tour organized by Dianne at Oops I Read A Book Again. I was enticed because of its diverse characters and its very realistic plot (considering it was based on a true story.) 

Follow the tour here!

(via Goodreads)

She swam up for what seemed like an eternity, with her chest so achingly empty it felt as if it had collapsed, seeing only white bubbles in front of her face until she broke the surface.

One moment of rashness, and fourteen-year-old Emily Slake finds herself amid hundreds of panicked and drowning people in the dark ocean waters off Sumatra. Miles from shore without a life vest, she resolves to survive. But in facing the dangers of the ocean, the desperation of her fellow survivors, and her own growing exhaustion, Emily must summon wits and endurance she's not sure she has.

Striking out on her own, Emily encounters Isman, a frightened young Muslim boy, floating in a life vest. Together they swim for their lives, relying on Emily's physical strength and Isman's quiet faith.

Based on a true story, Overboard is both a riveting tale of survival and a sensitive portrayal of cross-cultural understanding in a time of crisis.

This book made me feel scared.

Yes. That's the first thought that popped into my head as I finished reading Overboard at 2 in the morning. It reminded me so much of Titanic, the movie that made me feel afraid in boarding a ship again. Like the film, Elizabeth Fama's book made me feel afraid too. But its difference is that it also made me feel another thing.

It made me feel hopeful.

The characters displayed a sense of realism in them especially when faced with the problems that they had encountered. Emily knew she had to stay strong in order to survive but she also wasn't the perfectly heart-strong heroine. She accepts the fact that she is afraid and that it is completely normal. Isman was a character that I also enjoyed reading. He may be young but his sense of faith is astonishing. Despite being in a seemingly inescapable situation, he kept his beliefs until the very end.  

The descriptions were vividly written especially the ones with the skies and stars (I'm a big fan of those.) The philosophical things mentioned in the book were also a nice touch that I enjoyed.

While some others didn't exactly like the ending, I was greatly satisfied by it. There was already a little part of me that was expecting some tragedy in the end especially when  *spoiler* Emily let go of Isman when they were nearing the last island but I'm glad that it didn't happen. *end spoiler* 

Overboard is a riveting read that would engage you in a rollercoaster ride of emotions but something you would still enjoy all throughout.

"Humans are the only things that care about humans, and in the end we don't even do that very well."

"You may be a child, but you're also a grown up (...) When you see something necessary, you do it." - Isman

"It was the warmth of life. It was a body maintaining hope even when the mind had given up."

“You’re very strong,” Yaso said in his own language. 

“Strong, like a bull.” She wrinkled her nose at him and made a snorting noise. 

Yaso laughed and tried to snort like a bull himself. 

“You are good.” She smiled. 

“How old are you?” he asked.

“I am one hundred years old,” she said, sitting in the chair with a sigh. Emily had found that Indonesians often asked personal questions, and it wasn’t rude to give nonsensical, evasive answers. 

“You speak Bahasa Indonesia well,” the boy said. 

“That is because I have lived here for too long.” 

“I know you. You’re the doctor’s daughter. You help in the clinic, like that boy, Madjid.”

This book actually left me wordless. Not exactly speechless but I had difficulty finding the words that felt right. Despite the slow start, I was surprised to have liked it more than I initially thought I would. The lack of any romance, amazingly, didn't bother me. Emily and Isman's platonic relationship is something very special; something that is unique; something new and certainly refreshing.

Plus points because it was nice to see some familiar terms and phrases like Wayang Kulit and La ilaha illa Allah, Muhammad Rasul Allah. I learned them back in High School and during my first year in college :)

tl;dr, this book is beautiful and I think everyone should read it.

4/5 rating for Elizabeth Fama's Overboard! :)

4/5 Rating! :)

Plus One was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in April, 2014. A 2015 RITA award finalist, Plus One was also a highlighted book in VOYA magazine, and was listed among the "Top 12 Young Adult Books of 2014" in the Huffington Post.

Monstrous Beauty, was published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in September, 2012. It won won the 2013 Odyssey Honor Award, and was included on the 2013 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults list and the 2013 YALSA Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults list.

My first novel, Overboard (Cricket Books, 2002), was named a 2003 Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association (one of only eleven books selected unanimously by the committee that year). It received the 2002-2003 honor award from the Society of Midland Authors, and it was nominated for five state readers' choice awards (New Hampshire, Texas, Illinois, Utah, and Florida).

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I don't know how else to describe this book with justice so I recommend that you guys just read it for yourself. Fortunately, Elizabeth is giving away a paperback of Overboard to one (1) lucky reader! And it's INTERNATIONAL! Go join! :D

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