And, as with all great works of art, reliving those painful feelings through a work of art made them less painful and more beautiful. For me, reading Orphan Island was being reminded of the hard truths of what it means to grow up (and be human) presented in this perfectly crafted metaphor that took me back in time to feelings I didn't think I wanted to relive.

And Orphan Island reminded me of what it felt like to know that you had to physically, emotionally, leave one world behind because you also knew that staying would ruin it. What it felt like to live in a world - and a body - that seemed to be breaking apart and growing hostile. Reading Orphan Island made me remember what it felt like to be headed into a world I could could not see ahead of me, but only imagine. With her writing, her world building and her protagonist Jinny, Laurel Snyder reminded me more powerfully and intimately what it felt like to be at the cusp of adolescence more than any book I have ever read, more than any trip down Memory Lane flipping through a photo album. Orphan Island is so many things, stirs up so many feelings and calls to mind so many moments and memories. I just jumped right in, slate (mostly) blank, and I'm so glad I did. I didn't do that with Orphan Island, the newest book by Laurel Snyder, with evocative cover and map art by David Lichtfield.

Before I begin writing my own review of a book often before I even begin reading a book, I will read a handful of other reviews from a few different sources I have found to be reliable.

Orphan Island by Laurel Snyder