A great YA book about 4 high school students, from different cliques, who are forced to go on a cruise with their families. When the cruise ship experiences problems, they are thrown together to survive. The way the author develops them as they face adversity is done in a fun and interesting way. I ended up liking all 4 of them. There appears to be a sequel but, the way the book finishes, I think it is best left on such a high note. ( )

At the time I read this, this genre wasn't the type of book that I normally read. I read the sample from Amazon and was just totally hooked and had to see what was going to happen and how they ended up stranded. Normally I used to read mainly fantasy, as long as it had some type of supernatural in it in one form or another then I'd give it a try. Elle Casey is hands down my favorite author and having read some of her previous works I knew that I can expect strong characters and a fun storyline and I wasn't disappointed. I really enjoyed Wrecked and was amazed at how the characters transformed before my eyes.

I liked Jonathan and Candi from the get go but wasn't too sure about Sarah or Kevin. I thought Sarah was shallow and mean and didn't like how she was treating Candi but you quickly come to see who she truly is on the inside and why she acts the way she does. Kevin surprised me though. I thought he was just going to be a shallow jock who would bully and make fun of Jonathan the whole trip but he turned out to be a fun easy going kind of guy with a lot of depth. Sure he was shallow on the outside, dating all the same type of girls, not caring too much about them and just concentrating on his sport but deep down he's a good person who seems afraid of finding the "right one". You could tell early on that he was enjoying being around Candi and Jonathan and it was probably a nice change of pace from his normal life. All four of the kids grew and changed over the course of events in the book. It's like all four of them were perfect for each other. Sarah and Kevin became the people that they were always afraid to show others, Candi learned that she was not only smart but beautiful and courageous. Jonathan's "too much information" was a real asset for once and they all complimented each other nicely.

This book is great for young adults of all ages. I'm nearly 40 but still have the soul of a teenager so I could totally relate to everything. I haven't grown up so much that I can't remember how awkward being a teenager is. Not being good around girls, or being popular enough, of never knowing the right thing to say and being jealous of those that in all truths I really wouldn't want to be like anyway. At one point or another in life I've pretty much felt like each of them do and at no time did I have to suspend my disbelief to understand where they were coming from. This book had it all: adventure, romance, action all wrapped in a great story. The end had me on the edge of my seat with worry hoping they would be ok and I'm looking forward to Reckless. Great job Mrs. Casey on making me love a book I normally wouldn't have read. I've been wanting to expand my tastes on literature and this was a great place to start. ( )