ISOLA is a stunning achievement that rivals Alexandre Dumas' and Victor Hugo's classic tales of adventure, survival and political intrigue. This gorgeous book by Allegra Goodman is about a woman who discovers her boldness and strength as the natural world around her reveals its most stinging and beautiful secrets. It is a story of woman vs. nature that will have readers riveted until the very last page.

The heroine is Marguerite, heir to a château with its own village and properties. She is a child taken under the wing and supposed protection of Jean-François de La Rocque de Roberval, a volatile man who takes control of her life. He sells her land to pay his own debts and leaves her without a penny, then forces her to go with him on an expedition to New France. The only person who seems to truly care about her situation is one of Roberval’s servants, a bold and intriguing man himself, and they fall in love.

"ISOLA is a stunning achievement that rivals Alexandre Dumas' and Victor Hugo's classic tales of adventure, survival and political intrigue.... In a world that's constantly changing, the emotional and deliberate intensity of this story can offer all of us a balm."

When Roberval discovers their passion, he punishes them by abandoning them on a small island where nature threatens to destroy them. How will Isola fight back against natural forces to find purchase and safety in this wild world? That is the focus of ISOLA.

Goodman has based this story on a real-life adventure, as a 16th-century noblewoman suffered this horror on an island off the coast of Canada. She deftly captures the frailty and desires of this young woman, as well as the full range of searching questions facing her amidst this danger and despair. Why is she being treated this way? What forces have led her to this moment of supreme abandonment? Is the God she was taught to love and fear looking out for her, or is this just another lie she was taught as a gullible child?

Perhaps the best part of this adventure is how Marguerite learns to trust herself, to discover strengths she didn’t know she had, and, above all, to show that she is a resilient and creative being who can fight against the best of what the world decides to throw at her. ISOLA is a magical and mesmerizing journey into one woman’s soul and how she flowers under the most horrific circumstances.

In our world of reality TV shows like “Survivor” and “Naked and Afraid,” the exploits of men and women who wish to push themselves against the terrific power of the natural world are on full display. However, these adventurers take on this journey with full acceptance, unlike Marguerite. It is not lost on Goodman’s audience that the terms by which Marguerite must act are not exactly fair and represent the most difficult and horrific conditions in which any human can find himself or herself.

With our extensive knowledge of how the natural world interacts with our own world, readers will connect most soundly to this incredible tale and the consequences that Marguerite faces. Goodman adds in a good dose of girl power for modern audiences, as well as a heavy helping of romance among the danger and derring-do. ISOLA is a story for the ages.

In a world that's constantly changing, the emotional and deliberate intensity of this story can offer all of us a balm. As Marguerite builds a life with her own two hands, readers will find inspiration and exaltation in Allegra Goodman’s poetic tale of human survival.