Review: NIL

 

Book: Nil by Lynne Matson

Publication Date: March 3, 2014

Series: None

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Synopsis: 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.

Overall Review:

I’m not sure if there are a lot of books like Nil out there, in terms of being stuck on an abandoned island, but it’s definitely a genre I’m not completely familiar with so before starting I was a little hesitant. This isn’t something I’ve ever read honestly ever thought about reading. However, the hype, even before ARCs got out and people started reading, was huge and it sounded so interested that I knew I had to expand my horizons and read this book! A friend was kind enough to let me borrow her ARC and I am so glad she did because Nil is amazing. Truly amazing. Once I started reading I could not for the life of me put it down, and since I was in school when reading I had to put it down a lot which left me very frustrated. Right in the beginning we’re thrown into the action and land on Nil an abandoned island no one has ever heard of that will kill you if you stay longer than 365 days. Right after that it is nonstop adventure and survival for Charley, Thad, and everyone on the island. It never slowed down and it was such a thrilling addiction to read that I finished it in a day. I will admit there were a few parts that were entirely predictable and sometimes things tended to go around in circles and drone on, but the majority of the story was fun, adventurous, suspenseful, and all around beautifully entertaining. Matson’s writing style is very relatable in terms of the fact that I think she captured how people, specifically teens, would think and act. Especially in situations like that (not that we ever really know how someone will act when stuck on an island with an expiration date on their backs). She has a way to suck you in and make you feel like you’re the character, or you’re standing right alongside them. Unfortunately we didn’t really get to learn much about the island of Nil or how the heck it works, whenever Charley asked everyone just responded with, “It just is” and I hate when people try to use that as an explanation for anything. That’s not how it works! Things aren’t just how they are, there’s always an explanation behind things. It isn’t a huge deal, but I really wish we could have learned why Nil is the way it is, without the answer, “It just is.”

There are a lot of people on the island of Nil, many coming and many going, but the story revolves around Charley and Thad. I always enjoy books with multiple points of view, especially when there are romances involved, and I loved the dual points of view in Nil more than in most books simply because it’s nice to see how being stranded on an island like Nil can affect more than one person. It gets us into the mind of more than one person, and it gets even better because Charley’s a newbie, while Thad is pretty much a veteran when it comes to Nil. The amount of time they’ve been on the island also affects how they think and feel, especially with Thad’s days of being alive getting smaller and smaller. I’m a huge fan of Charley for multiple reasons. For one, she’s a strong survivor. When she gets sucked into Nil’s world she gives herself only a small amount of time to freak out before she works hard to try and stay alive and figure out a way off the island. She has no idea what she’s doing half the time but that doesn’t stop her from trying and giving it her very best. Even when she joins with everyone and they work together, she still gives it her all even when she doesn’t think she can do it. She’s kindhearted and I personally think she doesn’t have an evil bone in her body, despite how bad some people treat her. I found it hard not to like her, though sometimes she got a little obsessive and clingy to Thad and it got on my nerves just a little. Another great thing about her, she wasn’t willing to take, “It just is” as an answer! She worked day in and day out to figure out why Nil was as it was, she sorted through patterns and clues that nobody else paid attention to before then. She worked so hard to try and figure things out even as everyone told her it didn’t matter or it wouldn’t make a difference. Because of her research, she helped so many people on Nil to try and get home and even just to make life on Nil easier. She wasn’t perfect or good at everything and anything, but she was a fighter, a survivor, and she was not willing to lie down and just take things as they were.

Thad was the same as Charley yet different in many ways. He was genuinely a good guy who hated failing people, even if they deserved his scorn or to be left to rot he wouldn’t let them. He was always trying to do good by others and giving it his all. He was tough, resourceful, and very skillful when it came to protecting, hunting, and leading the group. He was such a sweet and loyal guy to the very end and I adore him so much. I just want to gather him up and keep him all to myself (though I doubt Charley would let me). He seemed a little spiritual in some aspects because he thought Nil the island was an actual being (not like physically). He sometime chatted with Nil and would hear a voice in his head who he called Nil. Because of his beliefs for awhile I thought Nil was an actual person or a goddess who kidnapped people and dumped them on the island to watch them die. I’m still wondering if that is the case! It was an interesting trait about him and was definitely something I wasn’t expecting, but I enjoye it. One thing that bugged me though is that unlike Charley, he was willing to let things be as they were. Charley always tried to find the truth and look for clues while he always seemed to shoot it down. “Why does this matter? Why does that? We’re still here and we still need to leave.” It was a little frustrating how closed off and ignorant he was to trying to find the truth.

The romance between Thad and Charley was definitely more of an insta-love and that left me a little hesitant because I am not a fan of insta-love and insta-obsession. Now that being said it actually took awhile for them to start dating and admitting how they felt. There was just so much going on that romance was sort of the furthest thing from their minds at the time. Plus the fact that they were very insecure when it came to each other, wondering if the other liked them. It took practically the entire group to convince them to throw caution to the wind and be together. After that, they were just adorable. A little obsessed with the other but when you’re stuck on an island with death looming closer and closer I guess time is too short to not be obsessed. You can tell they really cared about each other and loved each other. They were willing to do anything for the other and I adored seeing them together because they are such a good couple. The whole insta-love thing was a turn off but Matson handled it in such an amazing way that I didn’t mind it at all in the end. If anything, I wanted them together more often and to hurry up and be together!

The pace was pretty quick, and I’m surprised by how fast a read it was though I did refuse to put it down once I started so that could have something to do with it. We’re thrown into the story right away and we don’t get thrown out until long after the story is done (I got a huge book hangover after reading this). Nil is fun, suspenseful, and full of adventure that can and will make you feel for the characters and make it seem like you are on the island right alongside them. I wished we could have learned more about how Nil worked and why things the way they were but thanks to Charley and her seeking the same thing, the lack of background knowledge wasn’t a huge deal. Charley and Thad are such amazing characters and with great chemistry. Charley was an amazing, kind person who wasn’t afraid to give it all she had for herself and for others, even if she didn’t have a clue how to do something. She never gave up. Thad was a kindhearted guy who wanted to save and protect everything, even those that didn’t want or deserve it. I wish he was a little more open to finding out the truth behind Nil but all and all he’s an amazing boy and I love him. I like the title a lot, especially after finding out the reason behind the title in the book. The cover, both the old and the new, are gorgeous and really draw you in. I particularly love the second one with the deep blues. It’s so beautiful.

Overall Rating:

I give Nil a 4 out of 5 star rating. It’s such a good book and I enjoyed every second of it. It’s not something I would normally read and I definitely didn’t think I would enjoy it as much as I did, but I’m so glad I decided to give it a chance! So I can easily recommend this to people! If you’re hesitant about it because of the whole island theme or whatever it is, I would seriously say you should consider giving it a chance. You may be caught off guard and adore it just like I did. Matson did a wonderful job and I’m really hoping there will be a sequel. I’m crossing my fingers! Thanks for reading!

4/5 stars

~Kayla~