Review: The Secrets of Islayne

'' Why would he want to use his hands to shelve books when he could use his mind to give someone back a restored piece of the forgotten past? ''

★★★☆☆

From Goodreads:

A powerful island. A dangerous mystery. An impossible choice.
For centuries, the island of Islayne has given certain residents the ability to revive other people’s memories. These gifted individuals are known as luminators, and sixteen-year-old Ronan Saunders desperately desires to join their illustrious ranks. As he struggles against the prejudice of the old, powerful families who have an iron grip on the trade, Ronan falls under the tutelage of a reclusive luminator, rumored to be insane.
Just when his long-desired future is within reach, Ronan and his three friends discover a deadly secret on the island. As they delve deeper into the mystery, what they find forces them to question their loyalties, doubt long-held beliefs, and wrestle with the dire consequences of revealing the truth. Ronan finds himself torn between everything he loves and the only future he’s ever wanted. The entire fate of the lumination trade hangs in the balance of his decision.

Which memory would you bring back to life if someone offered to revive it? Or do you believe that we forget certain things for a reason? For Ronan Memories are sacred and for that reason, he wants to help people remember, but what if there's much more to the Lumination trade that they teach in school. 

I've read some books in the past that circle around remembering and forgetting, where the main focus has been to get the main character to do one of the two.  The Secrets of Islayne takes it to another level. The luminators brighten the past for individuals willing to pay. You have to have the gift of luminating, and for that, you need to live on the island of Islayne. Previously there had only been the old families which naturally dominated the trade but new 'regular' people moved to the island and after a few years, they started manifesting the gift also. And that's where Ronan comes in.

The plot is quite straightforward in this book. There are a few twists and turns but nothing major that you can't see coming.

The characters are very fitting for the book. There is the one who has the drive and passion to be the best, the irresponsible one, the thoughtful 'brain' of the group. And the variety of side characters is amazing. With each and every character, I faced the same problem; all of them were quite average, not mind-blowingly amazing. I liked them all but did not love any of them.

You kind of guess how the book ends, like, there is no other possible way for it to end. I still enjoyed the book and if you want something quick and easy to read, this one definitely could be your book!