Review: Nil by Lynne Matson

Nil by Lynne Matson

Series: Nil, #1
Release Date: March 4th 2014
Publisher: Henry Holt
Format: e-galley
Pages: 384
Genre: Young Adult – Science Fiction,
Source: Netgalley
Author: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon | The Book Depository
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On the mysterious island of Nil, the rules are set. You have one year. 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 lying 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 to save their future, Charley must first save him. And on an island rife with dangers, their greatest threat is time.

*This book was provided by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Charley was just minding her own business while walking through a parking lot when all of a sudden she she’s a bright flash of light and searing heat. Then everything goes black. Then Charley is awake in a different location, and she’s naked and terrified. Finally finding clothes and eventually finding people, she finds out she is on a island that they call Nil. When you are on Nil you have 365 days to get back home. Those who find the portals in time get to leave, those that don’t never come back. Not only human’s come through the portals either. Thad is view point number two. He has been on the island for 266 days. Naturally, the two hit it off and the rest of the book is the two of them trying to save each other.

I always like books more when they have two viewpoints. I really like it when one is a boy and one is a girl so this was a plus for me during the book. Thad and Charley are two of the very few constants in this book since so many people are coming and going throughout the story. This is very much a survival based story since it is just a bunch of teens that are thrown onto an unknown island. All the information they have is passed down from person to person. There are obviously no older people here and because of all that there is pretty much no world building. You just have to kind of accept it all.

Another thing I liked about the book was that at the beginning of each chapter it showed how many days each of them had been there. This added a sort of urgency to find out whether they were going to make it or not. The further along the book went the less days they had and the more you started to wander. However, since I write non-spoiler reviews I won’t go into too much description but the ending was sort of silly for me. I’m not sure how I would have done it differently since I’m not a writer but I felt it was a little unbelievable, even if you had to throw out your believability at the beginning of the book.  

This was a quick, easy, book; I read the majority of it in one day (although my Goodreads doesn’t say that). I have seen that some people thought it was a long boring read though so I recommend picking it up and at least giving it a try.  I have to give this book some props because it was the only book that I picked up and read during the month of June so that has to say something. I think I will pick up the next book from the library if I remember. Goodread's says it comes out in May of 2015 and it looks to be about two different people on the Island.