Review:: Lost #1: Endangered Species by Cathy Hapka

Like most tv watchers of the time, I did not watch Lost. It was not until the recommendation of a few very good friends that I actually decided to take a few moments to see the show that everyone was talking about. And I binged watched the show like crazy. By the time the last seasons were on, I watched with the rest of the audience, however I still have not seen the last episode (please, no spoilers, I have a better idea of what SHOULD happen, whatever the case, and I am perfectly fine with that).

Lost: Endangered Species by Cathy Hapka is the story of Faith, a passenger of Oceanic Flight 815, whom ends up on the beach with the rest of the 48 survivors that get stranded on a tropical island. As fans of the show might surmise, each of the survivors has a backstory–and the show focused on just a couple of the backstories of the core set of survivors. And, in true Lost style, Faith is pulled into her past while helping clear the wreckage of the flight she wasn't even supposed to be on.

Just a few short weeks earlier, Faith was a college student, studying venomous snakes (with a fair amount of botany and other biologic concerns). When her beloved professor, Dr. Arreglo, goes on record for helping a development team bulldoze an area teaming with wilderness, including some of the snakes she wishes to study, Faith learns quickly that her ideals do not match up with those of her mentor. However, when she begins to break away from HIS ideology, she has help in the form of Oscar, a young man whom seems as devoted to her as he is to preserving wildlife.

While on the island, Faith encounters some of the other more well-known passengers on Oceanic Flight 815, and what they do in the book matches what they were doing on the beach when they crash landed. Her encounters with one of the characters, a lesser known character named George, tend to rub her the wrong way as his temper goes from hot to cold very quickly.

This was the first in a series of planned books for the show, and while four were planned, only three were published. While this was not the most favorite book I have ever read, it was nice to revisit the series. And, even better, it was a book that I got from the Family Reading Festival in Akron, Ohio in early 2010! Bookcrossing, you may ask? Bookcrossing is a way to share books with the world, via a free website and just a few minutes of note-taking, as well as a pen to write down the label of the book for tracking purposes.

Since this is a Bookcrossing book that I received, I am doing my best to send it off on a journey around the world–this time it is going to be released in Kauai at a luau!