‘I walk toward the sea. The endless surface of the water extends to the horizon, whichever way I look.
Our world is small. We are on our own, and we only have ourselves to depend on. We rely on the Force deep within us, as taught to us by our forefathers.
If I were to walk westward from here, I would come across a barrier – the Wall. Behind it, there are Fools. At least, that’s what everyone says.
I have never seen one.’
Leia lives on the Island, a world in which children leave their parents to take care of themselves when they are ten years old. Across this Island runs a wall that no one has ever crossed. The Fools living behind it are not amenable to reason – they believe in illusions. That’s what The Book says, the only thing left to the Eastern Islanders by their ancestors.
But when a strange man washes ashore and Leia meets a Fool face to face, her life will never be the same. Is what she and her friends believe about the Island really true?Or is everyone in their world, in fact, a Fool?
My Rating: 
It’s always hard to connect with characters in a book that is only 70 pages, since everything seems a little rushed. That being said, I liked the premise of The Island: a dystopian society ruled by children that ultimately came into being because of a Star Wars story. The idea may seem a little bit ridiculous, but it is certainly unique and managed to pose several important philosophical questions about knowledge, societal constructs, and independent thought.
Overall, The Island was a quick but interesting read. It worked well as a novella, however I can’t help but wish that it had been a little bit longer, if only to leave room for further character development and a more in-depth look at the society that the Fools had built.
I received an advanced readers copy of The Island through NetGalley and Jen Minkman herself in exchange for an honest review.
