The Island

INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Hot on the heels of the New York Times bestsellers The Twin and The Lake, another pulse-pounding read from the undisputed queen of YA thrillers!

They said goodbye to their friends and family for the weekend. They weren’t counting on forever.


Jagged Island: a private amusement park for the very rich—or the very influential. Liam, James, Will, Ava, Harper, and Paisley—social media influencers with millions of followers—have been invited for an exclusive weekend before the park opens. They’ll make posts and videos for their channels and report every second of their VIP treatment. 

When the teens arrive, they're stunned: the resort is even better than they’d imagined. Their hotel rooms are unreal, the park’s themed rides are incredible, and the island is hauntingly beautiful. They’re given a jam-packed itinerary for the weekend.  

But soon they'll discover that something's missing from their schedule: getting off the island alive.

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Published Feb 28, 2023

336 pages

Average rating: 5.97

73 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Dae_Reads
Jul 18, 2024
10/10 stars
Jagged island. A brand new private amusement park meant for the rich and famous - or those who are very influential. Six Influencers, Liam, James, Will, Ava, Harper, and Paisley have been invited exclusively to experience the park for a weekend. Their goal, to take videos and pictures to spread the word about this amusement park. The only concern is, will they all get off the island alive. Malcolm, the owner of this amazing amusement park is giving these kids the opportunity of a life time by giving them the VIP treatment. Their hotel rooms are huge, the rides are incredible, and the island’s aesthetic is beyond the norm. This of course catches the eye of Paisley, the true crime junkie of the group. She’s enthralled with taking in all that she can, but has she bitten off more than she can chew? Paisley, our main female character, is put to the test when she’s looked at to help figure out why their friend Will is no where to be found after the first night on the island. Everyone wants to hear her theories and who might be involved. I mean no one is safe when you’ve only met a couple days ago. How much does everyone know about each other and how much does that affect how this plays out. I absolutely loved this book. I think it gave off Scream vibes and I am a long time lover of the Scream movie franchise. There’s this idea that there’s no one but everyone to trust cause they’re all here for the same reason right so it couldn’t be any of them. As the novel goes on it really drives home the idea of you have to be careful who you trust cause you never really know someone’s true intentions. Again, I think this book is great for those who are really into the old time slasher films such as Scream or Halloween. I think it takes a modern but still original twist to it
Steph_Sessions
Feb 27, 2026
9/10 stars
So mad about the ending...
Jen Marin
Jun 22, 2025
4/10 stars
Very quick read but somewhat juvenile.
Can’tKeepMyHandsToMyShelf
Oct 29, 2024
4/10 stars
I’m not sure how I feel about books like this; the ones that are ‘picking characters off one by one’ -ish. The ending was frustrating. Apparently it’s a trademark of Preston’s to end books in this manner, something I was not aware of and am not accustomed to. Naturally, it bothered me. That aside, the writing was simple and the story was easy to follow. Picturing the island, as described, was difficult. I got the picture in my mind, but it changed as they ran around the park and everything. I called the killer from a mile away. Very predictable, IMO. Maybe it’s too many criminal psychology classes and shows. Not bad, a fun read, but very simple.
Cozy-Becca
Oct 24, 2023
4/10 stars
This book was so confusing and not in the good, twisty, mysterious way. The killers reasoning could've been so much better, and the main character kept going in confusing directions that no one else would. Plus, the ending just made no sense. It felt like the author was trying to be edgy and different with their ending, but it just made them look like they straight up stopped writing in the middle of a sentence. Cool plot tho and fun Scream type vibes.

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