Wreckage
Written by Emily Bleeker
Narrated by Kristin Watson Heintz and Luke Daniels
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
Lillian Linden is a liar. On the surface, she looks like a brave survivor of a plane crash. But she’s been lying to her family, her friends, and the whole world since rescue helicopters scooped her and her fellow survivor, Dave Hall, off a deserted island in the South Pacific. Missing for almost two years, the castaways are thrust into the spotlight after their rescue, becoming media darlings overnight. But they can’t tell the real story—so they lie.
The public is fascinated by the castaways’ saga, but Lillian and Dave must return to their lives and their spouses. Genevieve Randall—a hard-nosed journalist and host of a news program—isn’t buying it. She suspects Lillian’s and Dave’s explanations about the other crash survivors aren’t true. And now, Genevieve’s determined to get the real story, no matter how many lives it destroys.
In this intriguing tale of survival, secrets, and redemption, two everyday people thrown together by tragedy must finally face the truth…even if it tears them apart.
Emily Bleeker
Emily Bleeker is a former educator who learned to love writing while teaching a writers’ workshop. After surviving a battle with a rare form of cancer, she finally found the courage to share her stories, starting with her debut novel, Wreckage, and followed by When I’m Gone (a Wall Street Journal bestseller), Working Fire, and The Waiting Room. Emily currently lives with her family in suburban Chicago. Connect with her or request a Skype visit with your book club at www.emilybleeker.com.
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Reviews for Wreckage
215 ratings18 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This was picked up in the free monthly selections from Amazon. Wreckage is about a plane crash and being stranded on a tropical island and betrayal and lies and infidelity. It is also about how circumstances can influence decisions and lead to consequences that are unintended or difficult to prepare for. For example, being stranded on a desert island for months, losing hope of rescue, trying to make a life that is livable because that's the easiest way to cope, and then being rescued. While sometimes the writing came across as trite and awkward, I liked the theme of forgiveness. I liked that the author allowed the people in the story to choose, rather than implying that a possible ending was fated or unavoidable. I was surprised to find that the ending felt real and natural to me. I will rate this book as Better Than Expected.
1 person found this helpful
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I love this author. Original plots that are very engaging.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Give this book a chance. Seriously.
It was a great read. By chapter 4 I was hooked and I had to find out about all the secrets and lies. Each chapter captivated me more and more and before I knew it, it was over.
There are moments when you will hate a character so much you want to throw the book. Other times you feel so much emotion for a character you want to comfort them. I felt a lot reading this book and I wish the ending had a different outcome, but overall it was satisfying for what it was. - Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I liked the idea of the book, the synopsis was interesting, but I was disappointed in the telling, which seemed lacking on several levels. I think the book started out almost strong but soon slipped into mediocre.
There were spots where inconsistencies made me pause such as the fact that she was conserving the tiny hotel bottles of shampoo, using a pea-sized helping, then shortly afterward she used a palm full. When you stop and think, wait--what?, it draws you out of the story.
The dialogue, especially at the beginning, is forced--almost juvenile. It made the characters less real and made me wish they'd just shut up if that's the best they can do.
Then there's the plot itself. Another reviewer said it was full of "unexpected plot twists"--I didn't see anything unexpected. In fact, that's what kept me reading--waiting for the unexpected to prove me wrong in my assumptions. That never happened.
Everything was pretty much as one would expect. Except for the ending, which turned into a gooey, syrupy-sweet, unrealistic love-fest between all the main characters. Gilligan's Island had more plot twists than this book, and a sharper ending. - Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Started out good, but could not hold my interest. Tossed it at a little over 25% of the way through. Do not recommend.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The pregnancy and infertility plotlines in this novel were so inaccurate as to be insulting, and as a result I had a real problem with this book. The plane crash story itself is fine; it tries to get at some themes of deception and marriage but ultimately it is terrible and the author should have done a basic amount of research about egg donation and IUD pregnancies before basing plot events around them. This book is insulting to people going through infertility and anyone who knows about IUD pregnancies will roll their eyes, hard.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Selected this book as a part of the Kindle First program. I was drawn in from the opening paragraphs and the author was able to keep my attention throughout the book, although I'm typically not of a fan of books that flip back and forth between different time periods. The struggle of the characters to adjust to life on a deserted island and post-rescue portrayed a range of emotions that seemed realistic. There was a time during the book that I thought I had missed a character in the book at the mention of his name and this drove me to continue to reading. The book's ending was unexpected a bit too tidy in a way.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Starts off great and through the first 3/4 of the book then it falls flat and goes from fiction to fantasyland.
Purchased the through Amazon Prime Kindle Firsts. Part of 52 Weeks 52 Books is was 2015 week 13 Book. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A short flight to a tropical resort ends early when the plane crashes, leaving just 3 survivors. Natural divisions when 3 people are put together in stressful circumstances. Friendships, enemies, dependencies, etc. One character is made into an Alpha Male that goes a little beyond believable - could someone be that ignorant, evil and critical to the team all at once? Kind of Blue Lagoon meets Cape Fear. The real crux of the story though is how the two lovers deal with rescue, trying to ignore their feelings in hopes that they can just go home and pick up where they left off after years away.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5‘Wreckage,’ by Emily Bleeker, is a fast-paced story in which three main characters survive a plane crash and live on a remote, deserted island for over a year. Lillian and Dave are living with a secret, one filled with lies about their own relationship and their relationship with Kent, the overbearing member of the flight crew that they nicknamed ‘Scout.’ A cocky, suspicious reporter, Genevieve Randall, suspects that someone is lying, and she is determined to arrive at the truth in her interview with both Lillian and Dave. So what really did happen on the island? The book takes an interesting twist at the end which I didn’t expect, and the resolution pans out very neatly, a bit too conveniently to be realistic I thought….but then, I like to be optimistic, to hope for the best.The title of this novel is so appropriate to this story. Not only do the characters survive the wreckage of the plane crash, but they must also deal with the wreckage of their lives, as they adjust to island survival, and then move forward in resuming their familial relationships upon their return home. Although the story is not filled with much complexity or depth, it is nevertheless, very entertaining and a worthy read, as I looked forward to coming home and reading more each night.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Slow burning page turner
An island collides with a plane, or rather its passengers.
A witch with a microphone dreaming of exposing a secret that never happened.
So much for her LifetimeTV special.
A drunk pilot who loses his charm.
Characters you can love.
Characters you can hate.
Characters you'll hate who everyone else loves.
And sharks. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wreckage is a believable story about a plane crash and island survival in the South Pacific. I thought it was a good effort for a first novel. Though the island portion could have been more thoroughly explored, the aftermath was well done. I felt empathy for the main characters during their ordeal during and after. Satisfying, but perhaps too tidy an ending. Overall, a nice beach read.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Wreckage tells the story of Lillian Linden and David Hall, both stranded on a desert island after a plane crash. When they are found almost two years later, they return to their lives but they have to lie about certain things that happened on the island.This sounded like a really intriguing story but I don't think it was done as well as it could have been. The parts on the island didn't seem that gritty considering what they must have gone through and the secrets were sort of dumbed down and therefore didn't seem that big a deal.This book read more like a romance story than a survival story to me and I must say that whilst it started well for me I did start to lose interest by the half way mark. Overall, not a bad read but not brilliant.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5WRECKAGE by Emily Bleeker, a stunning debut; a survival suspense story which plunges into the lives of its characters, offering a poignant, yet intriguing tale of emotions, lies, deceit, redemption and sacrifices for those they love.Lillian’s mother-in-law won a vacation trip to an exotic island. Being she was widowed, Lillian agreed to go along to accompany her on the trip. Lillian is not a huge fan of hers; however, everything was going smoothly, until the plane goes down. Lives change from this point on.The book switches back and forth between the suspense and intensity of the original plane crash to the present day when Lillian is back home with her husband, attempting to move on with their lives after the tragedy, as well as Dave the other survivor, and the upcoming media coverage attention. There is also questions about the pilot and some of the other characters. I will admit, when listening to the audio version, I kept thinking, “get to the point”, and found myself impatient of how this was to play out and felt it was dragging. Since we know the identity of survivors, it is now about what went down during the time on the island for two years, and if they can go back to their normal lives. So much happened which changed these two, similar to anyone such as soldiers who have experienced war and trauma, to try and fit into a mold, when returning to their previous lives. Everyone has changed, even the spouses at home. However, would urge readers to stick with the story, as by the time I got to about fifty percent into the book, this is when I felt the true talent and technique of the author really shines through. This is a thought-provoking book, almost a love story; an ideal choice for book clubs, or discussions with many viewpoints. In the beginning, I was all set for a lower rating; however, by the end of the book, found it to be almost a captivating prose, the intimate feelings between Lillian and Dave, as they were left to survive in this dangerous remote island off the South Pacific, knowing they may not live to see another day, or return to their families. Suffused with a stunning sense of character and atmosphere, WRECKAGE is really at heart, a beautiful story. The joyous part, of course is the ending, when the secrets come out and everything you thought would happen, does not. I loved the twists and turns, and the ending. I think readers, especially mothers, and wives will respect Lillian and her love for her family, her husband, her children and Dave’s family. You will also learn to like her husband by the end.I have seen many mixed reviews of WRECKAGE, as can see why different readers may have a different perspectives. With this being said, I would take the time to invest in the story, patiently, and reflect when completed, and believe you will agree this is a unique book, and very creative. It is emotional, intimate, and complex. The author does a good job in holding back and giving you just enough to keep you compelled to continue.Enjoyed the audiobook with two narrators, performed by Kristin Watson Heintz and Luke Daniels, always helpful with a woman and man’s voices which matched the characters. The novel reminds me a little of In Wilderness by Diane Thomas 3/3/2015. Both are suspenseful tales of survival in the wilderness; highly emotional, romantic, intimate, companionship, and an almost literary love story. Both of course, offer totally different story lines whereas one is a plane crash and the other one is a woman going off to the wilderness to die in peace. Recommend both. WRECKAGE proposes many questions, the events could happen to anyone and how would you react in such dire circumstances? Look forward to reading more from Emily Bleeker, a heck of a debut!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I didn’t know what to expect of this book but I did expect the plane crash, some romance, and intrigue. But I got much more. The story is about the survival of Lillian and Dave after a plane crashes and the survivors come upon a deserted island. It is two years before the survivors are found. There are secrets kept by the survivors, quite a few secrets. Secrets kept from family, friends, the media. How can life return to normal after what they have been through? Can it return to normal? Both Lillian and Dave are married…not to each other. A ruthless journalist tries to get them to reveal their secrets – she knows they are keeping them. And what the other people were on the flight? What happened to them? I loved the book! I could feel the emotions of the characters – the fear, the despair, the hopelessness, the grief, the joy. There are even surprises for the reader. No, I won’t even hint at them. I just advise that you read this book. I had trouble putting it down.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was well written. The character development could have been better but the characters were drawn sufficiently to endear you to the good guys. I would definitely read another book by this author.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I received this book through Amazon Kindle First. For the first several chapters of the book, I thought it was interesting. The book really falls flat at that point. The character development comes to an end. You learn that the secrets and lies cover actions that normal people wouldn't have felt the need to hide. The conversations become forced and unlikely. I just wasn't impressed.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book started out strong then slowly began to lose its way and the ending, oh please don’t get me started on that. I really wanted to like this book and in the beginning I really did but then things just kept going downhill.Lillian and her mother-in-law are on a trip together in the South Pacific but things go very wrong on the second week of their trip and their plane crashes into the ocean and I guess it’s not a spoiler since it’s in the description that Lillian and one other survivor Dave are rescued 2 years later. Things happened on the island that they don’t want to tell anyone so they lie to everyone including their spouses. There is a Nancy Grace type reporter that seems hell bent on getting the truth out of the 2 survivors and why they agreed to the interview is never explained to my satisfaction. The characters went from really interesting to cardboard cut-outs one dimensional and it really bothered me because this book had so much promise then fell short.I guess I don’t have much more to say about this book some people seemed to really like but it fell short, I think with more time and better fleshing out of the characters this could have been a great book but alas it was not meant to be.2 ½ starsI got this book from the Kindle First Program.