In this runaway New York Times bestseller, a harrowing near-death experience brings together an English teacher and her student as they struggle to survive on a desert island. Sixteen-year-old T.J. Callahan has no desire to go anywhere. With his cancer in remission, all he wants is to get back to his normal life. But his parents insist that he spend the summer catching up on the school he missed while he was sick. Anna Emerson is a thirty-year-old English teacher who has been worn down by the cold Chicago winters and a relationship that’s going nowhere. To break up the monotony of everyday life, she jumps at the chance to spend the summer on a tropical island tutoring T.J. Anna and T.J. board a private plane headed to the Callahans’ summer home, but as they fly over the Maldives’ twelve hundred islands, the unthinkable happens: their plane crashes in shark-infested waters. They make it to shore, but soon discover they’re stranded on an uninhabited island. At first, their only thought is survival. But as the days turn to weeks, and then months, and as birthdays pass, the castaways must brave violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the worst threat of all—the possibility that T.J.’s cancer could return. With only each other for love and support, these two lost souls must come to terms with their situation and find compaionship in one another in the moments they need it most. Praise for On the Island and Tracy Garvis Graves “[Garvis Graves is] the patron saint of independent authors.”— Kirkus Reviews “If you like Lost , Castaway and Fifty Shades of Grey , this initially self-published and now New York Times bestseller will float your boat.”—Genevieve Fox, Daily Mail (London)   “An addictive hybrid: The Beach meets Robinson Crusoe meets Room .”—Julia Llewellyn, The Telegraph   “The breakout hit.”—Susan Maguire, Booklist Tracey Garvis Graves  is the  New York Times ,  Wall Street Journal , and  USA Today  bestselling author of contemporary fiction. Her debut novel,  On the Island , spent 9 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, has been translated into thirty-one languages, and is in development with MGM and Temple Hill Productions for a feature film. She is also the author of  Uncharted ,  Covet ,  Every Time I Think of You ,  Cherish ,  Heart-Shaped Hack ,  White-Hot Hack , and  The Girl He Used to Know . Chapter 1 Anna June 2001 I was thirty years old when the seaplane T.J. Callahan and I were traveling on crash-landed in the Indian Ocean. T.J. was sixteen, and three months into remission from Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The pilot’s name was Mick, but he died before we hit the water. My boyfriend, John, drove me to the airport even though he was third on my list, below my mom and my sister, Sarah, of the people I wanted to take me. We fought the crowd, each of us pulling a large, wheeled suitcase, and I wondered if everyone in Chicago had decided to fly somewhere that day. When we finally reached the US Airways counter, the ticket agent smiled, tagged my luggage, and handed me a boarding pass. “Thank you, Miss Emerson. I’ve checked you all the way through to Malé. Have a safe trip.” I slipped the boarding pass into my purse and turned to say good-bye to John. “Thanks for driving me.” “I’ll walk with you, Anna.” “You don’t have to,” I said, shaking my head. He flinched. “I want to.” We shuffled along in silence, following the throng of slow-moving passengers. At the gate John asked, “What’s he look like?” “Skinny and bald.” I scanned the crowd and smiled when I spotted T.J. because short brown hair now covered his head. I waved, and he acknowledged me with a nod while the boy sitting next to him elbowed him in the ribs. “Who’s the other kid?” John asked. “I think it’s his friend Ben.” Slouched in their seats, they were dressed in the style favored by most sixteen-year-old boys: long, baggy athletic shorts, T-shirts, and untied tennis shoes. A navy blue backpack sat on the floor at T.J.’s feet. “Are you sure this is what you want to do?” John asked. He shoved his hands in his back pockets and stared down at the worn airport carpeting. Well, one of us has to do something . “Yes.” “Please don’t make any final decisions until you get back.” I didn’t point out the irony in his request. “I said I wouldn’t.” There was really only one option, though. I just chose to postpone it until the end of the summer. John put his arms around my waist and kissed me, several seconds longer than he should have in such a public place. Embarrassed, I pulled away. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed T.J. and Ben watching it all. “I love you,” he said. I nodded. “I know.” Resigned, he picked up my carry-on bag and placed the strap on my shoulder. “Have a safe flight. Call me when you get there.” “Okay.” John left and I watched until the crowd enveloped him, then smoothed the front of my skirt and walked over to the boys. They looked down as I approached. “Hi, T.J. You look grea